A Lost Memory
by Tari J. Deiter
Summary: Motherboard, out of kindness, asked Erasmus Pi to do something: Erase Max's memories of her traumatic past. Now, Max is muddling through life unaware of who she was before. Until certain events awaken her to horrible truths. Truths she has to learn with the help of her friend Echo Glasgow. Book #2 of the Like Souls Saga. In collaboration with Kawaii Stella.
1. Finding Ones Self Again

___Hello people. This is chapter one of A Lost Memory, the fifth installment of the Evil Within Saga. I hope it is up to your expectations.  
_

___Look, I know I promised A Shield-Maiden's Strife would be the last book but with the way it was going, the rest of the storyline was drifting away from how I had it planned. I decided to cut SMS a little short and start a whole 'nother book.  
_

___I don't own Cyberchase or Huntik_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass._

* * *

Chapter One  
Finding One's Self Again

**Previously on Cyberchase: A Shield-maiden's Strife. . . .**

_To say Matthias only ran a brain scan on Max would have been a huge understatement. Not only had he run a brain scan, he ran every mental test he could think of not just once, but as many as four times. He tried convincing himself that he was looking for something, anything, that would indicate a problem after Pi had forced his way in. But, deep down, he knew the truth. He knew he was looking for something that would make him feel justified in kicking Pi out of their lives._

_He sat down on the stool, exhausted; staring at the multitude of results from the numerous scans. Nothing. Her brain looked perfect. And Marbles couldn't help but feel incredibly upset with himself for acting so rashly. Pi had been a friend to him for a long time, but none of Max's pain and suffering would've happened if Pi hadn't allowed her to join the warriors. If Ada, Motherboard, and himself hadn't supported her._

We're equally to blame for this._ Marbles thought, stroking Max's cheek. _I hope your journey to find yourself again won't be as painful as getting where you were before this.

No. It's really all my fault. If it weren't for me being impatient, Hacker wouldn't have been created and Max never would've had to suffer for nine years. If it weren't for Hacker, Ledge would not have been made and Max would not have seen death before her time. It's because of me that she's suffered so._ Marbles wiped his eyes off on his sleeve, then picked Max up in both arms. _I'm sorry, Max. I'm sorry for everything.

_As he carried Max away, he tried to imagine would it would be like for her to have to relive everything. What her journey would be like in the rediscovery of herself. Would she be frightened? Confused? Would her memories coming back only make things worse? Worse, would she hate him, her father, for being the powder that started the fire that lead to her misery?_

_Marbles laid Max out on the bed and covered her in the heavy quilt; brushing her short hair back with only a finger. He was amazed by how deeply she was sleeping now. The slightest touch or sound used to be enough to awaken her from even the deepest REM sleep. He almost wished she could stay like this forever, so that way her path to rediscovering herself would be painless._

_Rising, Marbles snatched the puzzlebox off the bedside table and left the room with it. He wouldn't give it to Max just yet. Nor would he give her his notes on borg-making just yet either. Not until it was time._

**And now, the conclusion. . . .**

Following the yell announcing the attacker's coming, Levi was the first to respond. Spinning on his toes, Levi raised his sword and broke it in two – surprising Lok who hadn't expected Ves'nekt to be a pair of duel swords. In that moment, Levi proved himself to be a spectacular sword-fighter. He blocked, parried, and slashed with the twin Ves'nekt; forcing the attacker back against a tree.

"Solomon, go!" Nathan said.

Solomon's staff separated. He tapped the tips on the ground, and flicked them at the attacker; caging the fighter in a mound of dirt up to his neck. Nathan danced forward – lightning sticks ignited – and touched the mound; electrifying the attacker. The attacker groaned in pain, then went limp.

"Good job, guys." Lok said, calling the Boltflare spell to his hand. The four remaining warriors approached Levi and his captive. Lok held the spell up, illuminating the face of their opponent.

"It's Absolem Adair, the traitor." Zeke said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Even agreeing to the idea that Absolem could know something about Ledge and the Grimm Wreaker II. But, as of the moment, Absolem didn't seem so interested in giving away any secrets, known or unknown. So, the five warriors had to wait until Absolem awakened.

They sat in complete silence, mediating on the day's events – at least Nathan, Levi, Solomon, and Zeke were. Lok was engaged in miserable thoughts involving Max's missing memories. In the past, Lok had respected and revered Master Pi. Lok had learned quite a bit of advanced Seeker Magic from Pi since becoming a Page. Lok had learned Magic should only be used for the benefit of everyone of Cyberspace. It should never be used against someone except in self-defense. Lok doubted Max would ever willingly attack Master Pi, even if Lok had been present during Max's evil rampage. He had seen what could happen when a gargoyle was provoked into violence. That was a side of Max he never wanted to see again. _Ever._

"Have you come to kill me?"

Lok opened his eyes and saw Absolem was staring at them; slanted eyes narrowed.

"Not unless you want us to." Solomon said.

"Quiet, you." Nathan said, nudging Solomon none-too-gently in the ribs. Then, he turned his attention back to Absolem. "We're on a quest from Master Pi. Our mission: to find out what we can about the boy, Ledge. You seem to know everything there is to know about the goings-on in Cyberspace. Do you know anything about this subject?"

"I don't suppose you're willing to give me something in return for my information?" Absolem said.

Levi unsheathed Ves'nekt and held the tip of the blade close to Absolem's throat. "We're willing to spare you for what you might know. Now, what do you know?"

Absolem swallowed. "Point taken." He said. "Completely acceptable trade."

"You're despicable." Zeke said. "**'A warrior must always choose secrecy over life'**. What kind of warrior are you?"

"Don't you _dare_ quote Plain-warrior scripture with me!" Absolem spat in Kul'GahR. "I left that life a long time ago! I am a Warrior no longer!"

"That's for certain." Solomon said.

"Have some care." Absolem said. "There's quite a few things I kept from my Warrior days. Least of which is meditation and keeping fit."

"That's not all you keep." Lok said, roughly. "You keep whatever treasures from Shangri-La you can find and sell them well beyond their value."

"Is that a crime?"

"It's a crime against our order." Lok snapped. "Now, stop avoiding the issue and tell us what we want to know!"

Absolem sighed. "Very well. Ask away."

"Tell us everything you know about Ledge." Zeke said, hotly.

Absolem stared a hole through Zeke. "That tale is full of demons and monsters of all kinds. Are you sure that's what you want to know?"

"Start talking." Levi said, his sword drawing dangerously close to Absolem's exposed throat.

"I don't know everything about Ledge, son of Hieronymus Hacker. What I do know is fairly disturbing." Absolem said. "Ledge _is_ the son of Hieronymus. He was born on Sensible Flatts about the time Hacker decided to set up camp – his home away from home. But, Hacker had no intention of actually being a father to Ledge, the father Ledge was hoping for. Ledge spent a lifetime waiting for the dad who would never come back. Ledge kept waiting for Hacker to come back for him, but Hacker never did. Ledge kept botching adoption interviews so he wouldn't be adopted – he seemed to know what people wanted to hear and said the opposite so they would leave him alone. When Hacker died, Ledge abandoned his life on Sensible Flatts to avenge his father's death. He blamed Max for everything. But he took his aggression out on everyone."

"Everyone?" Nathan asked. "Who's everyone?"

"Check inside the Wreaker II. You'll see." Absolem said.

"I'll do it." Zeke volunteered.

He stood up, slung his scythe and chain across his shoulder, and marched up the ramp to the Wreaker. He was barely gone a few minutes before he came back down the ramp; face white as though he had seen a ghost.

"There's three bodies in there. One is missing its the head. The other two have holes through their middles." Zeke said.

"Sounds like Ledge has been practicing a few dark Alchemic spells." Nathan said.

"I didn't think there was a light and dark to Alchemy." Solomon said.

"There's not." Lok said. "There's only Magic and how you use it." He motioned to Zeke. "Who did the bodies belong to?"

"I don't know their names." Zeke said. "But they were robots. One looked like a watermelon. The other looked like it had the body of a trashcan. And the third was like a dog of some kind."

"I don't know their names either." Lok said. "But they were there with Ledge and the Wicked Witch on the Northern Frontier when Shield-maiden Max was hanging from the Steel Crucifix."

"_Ex_-Shield-maiden Max." Nathan said.

"To me, she'll always be a Shield-maiden. And she'll always be my teacher." Lok said, roughly."

Nathan grunted but said nothing.

Absolem smirked. "So, Max lost her Shield-maiden's status, huh? I knew she couldn't hack it. Tell me, did she retire or did Master Pi take it from her?"

"That's none of your business!" Lok snapped. "Just because Max was an outsider – like me – doesn't mean she couldn't handle it! At least she remained faithful to the order . . . unlike you!"

"Touche." Absolem said. "No need to get so touchy about it."

"Is this all you know?" Levi demanded, pressing harder on Absolem's throat.

"Well, there is one more thing." Absolem said. "The Wreaker II did not appear here on Foresteria until only a few days ago. Then, this morning, he took off with a jet pack. No sooner had he left, than I knew he was going to cause trouble."

"He did. And he paid for it." Levi said.

"Hmm. Not surprising." Absolem said. "Is he dead?"

"Yes." Nathan said.

"Hmm. Max kill him?" Absolem asked.

"No. And as to the 'who dunnit', that's none of your business either." Lok said.

Absolem had already caught on. Max _hadn't_ killed Ledge. But she could have if given the chance. _Is that how she lost her title? She nearly killed someone?_

"Anything else?" Levi asked.

"That's all I know." Absolem said. "Can you let me go, now?"

"Fine." Nathan motioned to Solomon who released Absolem from his earthly prison.

With a gesture with his lightning rods, Nathan led them up the ramp into the Wreaker II. There, they hunted among Ledge's personal affects until they found a few items of interests: books on Alchemy, drawing tools and special paper and materials for the creation of Transmutation circles, and an old journal with pages yellow with age.

Lok's expertise as Seeker was little help in matters of Alchemy, but he did understand enough of it to read the journal. His coolant froze when he realized this was Dark Magic – Alchemy used at its worst. The journal's writer discussed how the art could be used to force people to do horrible things. Even an entry about Lifebending was scrawled in a few of the pages as well as the writers own notes on how it worked and the applications that could be used with such a thing.

"Sword-Thane Lok, what have you learned?" Nathan asked, leaning over Lok's shoulder to read.

Lok immediately snapped the journal shut. Nathan couldn't understand any of it anyway. It was written in plain English but neither of the warriors present understood English, except for Lok of course.

"I think Master Pi had better see these. We'll take it all." Lok said.

"Very well." Nathan said, agreeably.

They filled their bags with anything they could find pertaining to Ledge's plans before heading back to their coops and taking off.

1

When Dr. Matthias Marbles walked by Max's room, he was surprised to see her awake and sitting up. He had been sure - if not absolutely hoping - she would sleep for the rest of the night. Yet, here she was curled up on the bed with the strangest of looks on her face.

"Max, honey, are you alright?" Marbles asked.

Max's dark-brown eyes met Marbles' golden-brown ones. He could see the light he was so accustomed to seeing was gone. The weight of knowing the horrors in her life had been lifted off her shoulders. But Marbles still didn't think this was the same little girl he had made nearly eighteen years ago.

"Mattimeo's dead. Isn't he, Dad?" She asked.

Marbles kept the shock off his face, not surprised Max remembered Mattimeo - Pi said she would - but more surprised that she knew he was dead.

"I'm afraid it is true, sweetheart." Marbles said.

Max buried her face in her arms. "I'm going to miss him so much!" She admitted.

Marbles immediately entered the room and wedged himself between Max and the headboard. He gathered his daughter in his arms and held her tightly. He let her cry herself out, wondering if this was a fantasy designed by Pi, or if these were Max's true feelings for the obscure warrior Marbles new nothing about.

"I'm sorry, Max." Marbles said. "Really, I am."

Max's face settle in hard against his chest. Marbles squeezed her even tighter, realizing all his assumptions about Max being different was now wrong. She _was_ different in more than one sense. But now, she was more like that child he once cuddled with before she left Control Central to be a Page on Shangri-La. Marbles was still a little upset that Max had to undergo a temporary "Death by Personality"1 like some sort of common criminal. For now, Max seemed so fragile. She wasn't the same wounded but jovial person he cared so much for. He wanted to stretch this moment out as long as he could.

Marbles had never been one to sing – that had always been Max's area of expertise – but he did allow a song to vibrate through his throat in a soft hum. He didn't know what he was humming, only that there was a song coming out. Max listened to the sound, then started whispering the lyrics; surprising Marbles who hadn't expected for her to know the song.

"I saw you standing in the middle of the thunder and lightning  
I know you're feeling like you just can't win, but you're trying  
It's hard to keep on keepin' on, when you're being pushed around  
Don't even know which way is up, just keep spinning down, 'round, down…

"Every storm runs, runs out of rain  
Just like every dark night turns into day  
Every heartache will fade away  
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain

"So hold your head up and tell yourself that there's something more  
Walk out that door  
Go find a new rose, don't be afraid of the thorns  
'Cause we all have thorns  
Just put your feet up to the edge, put your face in the wind  
And when you fall back down, keep on rememberin'

"Every storm runs, runs out of rain  
Just like every dark night turns into day  
Every heartache will fade away  
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain

"It's gonna run out of pain  
It's gonna run out of sting  
It's gonna leave you alone  
It's gonna set you free  
Set you free

"Every storm runs, runs out of rain  
Just like every dark night turns into day  
Every heartache will fade away  
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain

"It's gonna set you free,  
It's gonna run out of pain,  
It's gonna set you free."2

As the last note faded away, Max's eyes closed and she was fast asleep with her head leaning against Marbles' chest. Marbles hugged her tightly, kissed her on the forehead, then shifted her so her head was now in his lap. Then, he covered her with the quilt and continued to stroke her back and hair like he used to when she was a child.

_Things are going to be different, now._ He thought.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were going to be here."

Marbles looked up and saw Echo standing, apprehensively in the doorway. Her vivid green eyes were on his golden-brown ones, then on Max now fast asleep in his lap.

"It's alright, Echo." Marbles said. "You can still stay here."

"Are you sure? I can sleep in Lok's old room if that would be more suitable." Echo said.

"It'll be fine. I just can't leave Max right now. That's all." Marbles said.

"Aren't you tired at all?"

"A little. I can just go into stand-by for the night. It's not quite the same as sleep-mode but it does suffice and is better than complete sleep-deprivation."

Echo made a slow beeline for the vacant bed still tucked against the other wall and grabbed her nightshirt. She pointed to the bathroom and Marbles nodded in understanding. After today's events, he could go for a shower himself. He mentally reminded himself to take one in the morning before the Cyber-head Council meeting.

Echo swept into the bathroom, showered, and returned to the bed. She snuggled underneath the covers, propped her head up on her arm, and stared at Marbles. The relationship between the two borgs baffled her. Marbles was nothing like Echo's biological father. Echo wondered if Max knew how lucky she was having a real father who cared about her so much.

"Dr Marbles, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course, Echo. What is it?"

Echo faltered a moment, then "I'm not sure how to say it, exactly, without it coming out wrong -"

"Just try. I won't be offended."

Echo took a breath. "How did you get Max to love you so much? Did you program her that way?"

Marbles was quiet for a while as he thought about what she was asking. He leaned his head back against the wall, his finger still softly combing through Max's hair.

"In a way I did." He admitted.

"So . . . everything Max feels about you is simulated?"

"No, nothing like that." Marbles sighed. "When I made Max, I made her for a specific purpose in mind - just like all inventor cyborgs are supposed to. I wanted her to be my daughter and I wanted to be her father. But my one example of what a father is supposed to be like was my own and he wasn't a very good one. I was afraid I wouldn't be good enough for her. I was afraid she would hate me. So, during the copy-transfer, some of my fears of not measuring up to ideal father standards must have reached her and she became an easy child to deal with."

"So, you were afraid you would be like your own father?"

"Yes."

"What was he like? Your dad?"

"I would not like to speak ill of Net, but he was lazy and arrogant. He was less of a father to me and my brother, Cooper, and more of a creator. Net never wanted to be Motherboard's chief technician and when the first chance came, he passed it off to me and my brother; leaving us to finish his grandfather's legacy before our time."

Echo nodded, not wanting say what was on her mind. Instead, she turned the conversation back to him and Max. "Well, whatever you did, you succeeded in making her care quite a bit about you. But, that only raises one more question."

"What's that?"

"What's she going to do when you come to the end of your life?"

Marbles felt his coolant freeze. "That is something I hope I never have to think about. But, I can only hope Max will accept it when the time comes."

"What if she doesn't?" Echo pressed. "What if – what if we have a repeat of the . . . you-know-what incident on you-know-where?"

Marbles didn't want to answer that question. Nor did he want to think about what was being said. Instead, he pursed his lips and said, "Go to sleep, Echo."

But Echo didn't go to sleep right away. Instead, she watched Max and Marbles, thinking about how this moment was picture perfect and deserved to be captured in her sketchbook.

Reaching into the waterproof Shangrinese bag given to her prior to her return to her plane, Echo took out her sketchbook, pencil, marker for detailing, and colored pencils. Then, leaning against the headboard with a pillow behind her back, she began to draw; taking care to capture every detail as she saw it. Within a couple of hours, she had a perfect rendition of the scene in front of her. Satisfied it was finished, Echo rolled over and went to sleep.

In the morning, Marbles awoke to the sound of his alarm going off on the other side of the wall. The sound disoriented him before he remembered that he had set it to get ready in time to go to the meeting. The weight in his lap reminded him of Max and he looked down; noticing how child-like Max's face was when she slept. The lines of life's worries and the horrors she had experienced were now gone, replaced by a sense of peace. Her face soft and her hand bunching up the hem of his cotton white tee. Marbles wanted to stay here a while longer and just wanted to watch her; wishing he didn't have to go to that meeting.

But he did. And as Motherboard's Chief Engineer and representative, Marbles had to go to the meeting. He carefully massaged her knuckles until she released him. Then, Marbles moved her head onto her pillow and covered her with the quilt before going over to Echo's bed and shaking her awake.

"Hey. How soon are you planning to go back to your plane?"

"Not anytime soon." Echo said, stretching. "What's going on?"

"I have to go to a meeting. Do you mind watching Max while I'm gone?"

"I don't think she actually needs to be watched but I'll keep her company."

"Smart alleck." Marbles said, smiling. He lightly patted her arm and left.

Ada was just waking up in Marbles' room when he entered. She looked at him, noticing his rumpled clothing and the dark circles under his eyes. She knew, right off, that he had spent the night with Max.

She watched him gather some clean clothes and head into the bathroom for a shower. While he washed, Ada dressed and put her hair up in its buns; wondering if Marbles should really be at this meeting today or not.

0

Pi looked at the mess of textbooks, notebooks, and a single, black-bound journal now littering his floor. The five apprentices kneeling before him had presented him with all the notes they had gathered. But, just as Pi feared, their search for answers had only raised more questions than it answered.

"Is this all you could find on Ledge and his plans?" Pi asked.

"Yes, Master." Nathan said. "We apologize that it isn't much."

"Your apology is unnecessary, Nathan. We will learn what we can from this. Thank you. You are dismissed." Pi said.

The warriors rose and left Pi to his musings. He knew he should at least sort through the information in front of him, but he didn't have time. He had to go to the meeting.

1

"Dr. Marbles, I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your daughter. My sister and I feel your pain." Said Judge Trudy.

Marbles suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, about that . . . there's something I have to say to you before the meeting actually begins."

"Matthias." Pi warned.

"Erasmus, the time for secrets is over." Marbles said, firmly.

"What's going on?" Zeus asked.

"Max is alive." Marbles said. "But she's not the same anymore. Her memories have been erased."

There was a moment of silence while everyone tried to absorb this.

"Wait. Back up a minute and answer me two questions. One, if Max is alive, than why did you say she was dead? Two, Why is she missing her memories?" asked Ollie, head of Solaria.

"The truth is, Max _was_ dead. She was murdered only a few days ago." Marbles said. He paused as a collective gasp sounded out in the room. "But, she is alive now thanks to a mysterious magical source. A person who can pass through the gates without having to abide by the laws of Equivalent Exchange. We said Max was dead so we could draw out her murderer. The plan worked and her murderer appeared in an attempt to kill her again because he never believed what the news report said."

"Fine. But, why were her memories missing?" asked Ava.

"That was my doing." Motherboard admitted. Everyone stared open-mouthed at their leader's confession. For Motherboard to order for a mindwipe was completely unbelievable no matter how anyone looked at it. "I asked Erasmus to erase Max's memories of the trauma she received. She wasn't the same anymore. All the pain, suffering, and torture she endured only weakened her mind. She wasn't able to handle it anymore. People offering her help or comfort became an enemy to her. She recoiled from the simplest of touches. Touch her access shaft and she curled up as though waiting for the pain."

"So, you did it to help her? To heal her?" said the Poddleville Mayor.

"Absolutely." Motherboard said. "In time, her memories will come back, slowly, giving her a chance to accept it. Then, everything physical that was taken away will be given back."

"I take it you took something else away, eh Erasmus?" said Sheriff Judy.

"Well, for starters, she's not a warrior anymore. Nor is she a shape-shifter." Pi said.

"Sounds like a punishment." Said Zeus.

"Hardly." Pi said.

"Max had PTSD." Said Motherboard. "If you could see the trauma she endured, you would understand. The torture before the kill. Max had to suffer before she died; slowly dying until the pain grew too much and her fragile cyborg body couldn't handle it anymore."

"How was she killed?" asked Ava.

Everyone looked at Marbles who was now hunched over on his seat. The retelling of Max's death did not sit well with him. They waited, expecting him to speak. After all, the news report said she had died at home in the presence of her family. But Marbles remained silent.

"The Steel Crucifix."

No one was expecting for Ada Lovelace to say it, much less say anything at all. There wasn't a single person in that room who could tell what they were more shocked about: Ada using the name or the fact Max had died by use of the Steel Crucifix.

"Impossible." said the King of Happily-Ever-After-Ville. "The Steel Crucifix hasn't been in use for decades. Even our worst criminals aren't executed in that fashion any more."

"It happened!" Marbles said.

"Really? Did you see it happen?" asked the King.

"No. But we do have visual evidence of her death . . . and her murderer." Ada said.

"So who did it?" asked Zeus.

Neither Pi, Marbles, nor Ada wanted to say it. Claiming a kid could murder someone was a serious accusation. But, someone didn't seem to care.

"Ledge Hacker."

"NO! IT'S NOT TRUE! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE THAT SWEETHEART KID OF MURDERING MAXANNE MARBLES!" Judge Trudy screamed at King Dudicus.

"Because it happened, Trudy!" Dudicus answered. "When Max was brought back, she showed us everything that happened. We saw Ledge's face in her memories."

"I won't believe it." said Trudy. "Ledge was just a misunderstood boy. _Misunderstood_ but not a murderer."

Motherboard sighed. "This is getting us nowhere." She said. "Matthias, permission to show them what happened that day."

Marbles nodded. "Show them the video. Security code four-six-nine-see-sixteen-bee. Category, negas. Subcategory delta phi."

Motherboard's face was soon replaced by the video of Max's ordeal with Ledge. With every minute that passed, there could be no denying that Ledge was, indeed, guilty of murder.

Ada turned to Trudy. "Is that proof enough for you?" She asked. "Ledge killed my daughter and he did it using the worst method in our history."

"Tell me something, Ada." said Trudy. "Was this taken directly from Max's ROM?"

"Yes. She let us see it." Motherboard said instead of Ada.

"But why? Why would he kill her? Max never did anything to him!" said Sheriff Judy.

"He said it was for revenge. I believe there was an ulterior motive." said Pi. "As to what that motive is, I don't know."

"Then find out." said Trudy. "I won't believe Ledge killed her without a real reason."

Pi nodded but said nothing and the meeting continued.

For the most part, the meeting was about each Cybersite's financial positions. A few Cyberheads were looking for permission to expand their resources and Motherboard granted them. Then, the meeting was adjourned.

Marbles gathered his stuff and headed down to the hangar bay with Ada. Just ahead, he saw Pi and Red getting into a red and gold coop.

"Wait!" Marbles shouted, running to catch up with them.

Pi stopped and turned. "Yes?"

"Erasmus, there's something I need to ask you."

"Very well, Matthias. Speak."

"Last night, Max wept for Mattimeo. You said she would remember him. But, the way she wept for him . . . it wasn't like she was mourning the loss of a friend. But for someone much more important."

"I know what you're about to ask, Matthias. Yes, Max and Mattimeo were, indeed, in love. Warriors are not suppose to attach themselves to one person in this world as life is fleeting. But Max and Mattimeo did, breaking every law we ever made in regards to attachments."

"That's what I figure. But, are her feelings toward him now amplified or did she feel that way before you entered her mind?"

"I did nothing with her feelings to Mattimeo. I wanted her to be able to keep something from our world. Memories of Mattimeo - though altered so she does not know she was a warrior too - have been left intact. That is something I would never deprive her of. Never."

Marbles sighed and rubbed at his neck. "Thanks for telling me that, Erasmus. It puts my mind at ease."

Pi smiled. "I'm glad." He said. "Give Max my best."

"I will. And, I'm sorry about what I said yesterday."

"I understand, Matthias. You were upset with me. But, I suppose you were upset with yourself, too."

"Yes. I was. I never should've made Hacker. If it wasn't for him, Max would never have had to endure that kind of torture."

Pi put a hand on Marbles' light bulb and smiled at his friend. "You can't blame yourself for the actions of another borg, whether you made him or not. Remember one thing, Matthias. Hacker had the Free-will program. He chose his life of evil just like Max chose her life as a Shield-maiden. What he did does not reflect back to you. Therefore, nobody blames you for what Hacker has done. Not even Max."

_I only wish she would._ Marbles thought, not believing a single word that came out of his friend's mouth.

* * *

1"Death by Personality" - Babylon 5, _Passing Through Gethsemane_

2Lyrics to Every Storm Runs (Runs Out of Rain) by Gary Allan


	2. Answers

_Chapter Two. Did you guys miss me? No, you're not hallucinating, I did change the title from A Lost Memory to A Deadly Secret.  
_

_Sorry about the long wait. I do have a couple "good" excuses. **Number one**, i've been stuck. Max ran off to Maui for an extended vacation and finally came back like last week. While that should've helped, she seemed to be focusing more on later chapters as well as invading other people's stories as my writing partner, Kawaii Stella, will tell you. I just managed to finish chapter two last night thanks to a stomach flu that kept me from sleeping, but there you have it. It was going to be longer but i figured this needed a chapter all to itself. **Number two,** my grandmother passed away monday November Twelfth. She was an artist, the matriarch to my family, and one of the best people I've ever known. On the upside, however, I have further embraced my writing. Somewhat. I've been having a little trouble churning out chapters than usual but it's not a block I can't overcome.  
_

_Also, I have a fanpage on Facebook now. Tari J Deiter. You'll get updates on chapters like exerpts, quotes, and the whole shebang. Also, you'll have the insider scoop on some future stories I'm brewing up. hehe. go ahead and like me.  
_

___I don't own Cyberchase or Huntik_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass._

* * *

Chapter Two  
Answers

Pi did not sleep when he returned to Shangri-La following the meeting. There was something he had to do. Something important. And it involved utilizing as much time as he had to do it.

The mess of information Nathan, Lok, and the others brought back to him was still right where he had left it – on the floor. As he entered his room – ordering his warriors to leave him undisturbed – he picked up everything hand laid them out on his desk according to type. Then, he settled into a cushion and began to read.

First, he went thought the textbooks, laying all five of those aside when he realized those were merely the same kind of materials he and the other Plo-baQ'krum had approved for use at the school of Frogsnorts. They were tools for studying Alchemy and none of them would provide answers for what Pi was looking for – Ledge's study of the depraved kind of Alchemy he had used. However, Pi was surprised to see the Cybrary's reference section seal taped across the binding and realized these had been stolen out of the Cybrary. He made a note to return them once he was finished.

With the textbooks out of the way, Pi turned to the notebooks. There were seven in all. As he flipped through them, he noticed they were full of note-style texts; formatted the way Frogsnorts' teachers taught their classes. Only half these notebooks were full and Pi remembered the Ledge hadn't completed the courses – acting up which had resulted in his expulsion from Frogsnorts – and each notebook was labeled with subject matter. He set those aside . . . save one.

Number seven.

That one wasn't labeled. The fact Ledge had neglected to give that notebook a name piqued Pi's interest. All the others were named. I slowly opened it to the first page and was astonished to find it was full to bursting with lines of notes. Notes that included words no beginner Alchemist would ever use. The use of advanced terminology continued to startle Pi and he began wondering if Ledge understood any of it. Hacker's son or not, even the best borgs who were designed to understand and use Alchemy couldn't quite understand advanced terminology until their third or fourth years.

As Pi paged through it, he realized the notebook had slowly drifted away from school practices and grew more and more . .. he supposed the word "sinister" was applicable here. He couldn't suppress the collusive shiver that ran down his back. These arts Ledge was studying had been banned because of how they were meant to be used, or because of how they were used.

As a general rule, Alchemy was used as a means of helping people. Though, it had also been used in the past for incapacitating criminals who were going to be executed on the Steel Crucifix. Many argued that was abusing their power while others believed that was helping the criminals endure the pain while they died. Pi, himself, was responsible for aiding in the executions of over fifty criminals before he resigned as prison alchemist and returned to his full-time job as Head of Shangri-La. Aside from that use of Alchemy, everything else that could be deemed harmful was forbidden and the forbidden arts were not taught to young, budding Alchemists.

_So, where did Ledge learn any of this?_ Pi wondered, continuing to read.

As he came to the end of the notebook, he realized the notes were becoming extremely graphic. Beneath the twenty-some circles Ledge had carefully drawn, there were labels and even some lists of Ledge's speculations on how each circle could be used. Over half of the speculations went against the natural order of things and many of those notes belonged to circles Pi had used before but would never dream of using that way.

Then, Pi came to the end of the notebook. He blanched and covered his mouth with his hand. The circle drawn there had three, intersecting triangles. Isosceles to be exact. Pi knew what it was for and, even though he had seen papers features this circle on Ledge's palms, it hadn't clicked what they were until now. And he knew it should explain how Ledge was able to manipulate Max in gargoyle form like that. How he was able to torture the humans like that, too, without touching them.

_That can't be possible!_ Pi thought. _That application was lost eons ago! Where did he –_

His dark eyes suddenly flicked to the leather-bound journal. He set the notebook aside and grabbed the journal; opening it to the first page. Property of Taarlok was scrawled in neat, old-style script. His hands trembled. Pi thought he recognized the journal as Taarlok's, one of the missing sons of Atreyu. It was rumored that Taarlok had somehow managed to study Alchemy with only a battery pack as his core; an act which should be impossible without a medium of some kind. Even worse, it was rumored that Taarlok even somehow managed to warp the art into something horrible; even using it to conduct experiments on living things, including the Gar-ghoul. Lifebending was invented by Taarlok and, due to his crimes, he was stripped of everything he knew about Alchemy and was banished.

Pi put the journal aside. He thought the journal had been destroyed. _So, where did it come from? _He didn't need to read it to know where Ledge's depraved knowledge of Alchemy had come from. But, as he flicked it aside, it fell off the table and landed open on the floor. Pi got off his cushion to pick it up. As he went to close it, he noticed the journal's last page was marked with a note from Ledge. He sat down and read it.

_I've done it! Now to show the world they were wrong about us. There's more to us than meets the eye. And the first to experience this will be Max. I'm going to enjoy seeing the look on her face when she loses everything._

"_When she loses everything"_ Pi thought. This whole time Ledge had been thinking about killing Matthias. His only target hadn't been Max at all. it was everyone Max deeply cared about. And Matthias topped the list.

But why Max? Aside from the fact she had killed Hieronymus, she did nothing to make anyone hate her so. Wicked was the only person on that list who made a real agenda against the former Shield-maiden. And while Ledge was Hieronymus' son, there wasn't a clue as to how he fit into this picture and anyone who could proved any insight into this was dead.

_Or were they?_

Pi rose and went to the computer. There, he went through his list of contacts until he came to Ginny's name and selected it. The call was answered by the grouchy red-head Pi knew too well and he suddenly felt very sorry when he realized he had woken her up – he hadn't even noticed it was one in the morning until he read the clock on the computer's task bar.

"You had better have a good reason why you woke me up, Erasmus." Ginny said, irritably.

"My apologies, Ginny." Pi said. "I've been looking into Ledge Hacker's past. And I need your help."

"Can't this wait?" Ginny asked, yawning deeply.

"Until morning, yes." Pi gave in.

"So, why are you calling me _now_?"

"I need you to set up a meeting with Warren for me. Can you do that?"

Ginny was suddenly interested. "What does Warren have to do with Ledge?"

"That's what I would like to know." Pi said.

"Okay, fine. I'll let him know you're coming." she said.

"Thanks, Ginny."

Ginny grunted before disconnecting.


	3. Awakening

_Chapter Three. Since Max has returned from her vacation, my brain has been filling up with ideas. Seriously, I was up until about 1 am typing this out. Well, this and another story. Did I mention I'm also working on a Legend of Korra fanfict? It's called Twisted Destinies. Go check it out.  
_

_Also, I have a fanpage on Facebook now. Tari J Deiter. You'll get updates on chapters like exerpts, quotes, and the whole shebang. Also, you'll have the insider scoop on some future stories I'm brewing up. hehe. go ahead and like me.  
_

___I don't own Cyberchase or Huntik_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass._

* * *

Chapter Three  
Awakening

Max awoke slightly disoriented. She remembered going to sleep leaning against her father's chest. But now that she was fully awake, she couldn't see Marbles anywhere.

_Where did he go?_ she wondered, sitting up, slowly.

Everything about her was sore as though she had held one position for too long. Then again, leaning against Marbles' hard chest – comforting as it was – wasn't comfortable. Max smiled as she remembered him awkwardly humming "Ever Storm Runs (Runs Out of Rain)" to her so she could sleep. But, when she remembered why marbles had felt the need to hum the song, she curled up into a tight, little ball and began to cry again.

Her tears came quickly as memories of Mattimeo – falsified as they were – flashed through her head; playing like a video as she "remembered" meeting him for the first time. How ironic that it was Memoryville. A glitch in their system required the attention of a mechanic, and because of the severe importance of Memoryville's vault, a warrior had come along. Mattimeo, he called himself when Max pressed him for his name so she wouldn't be calling him "silent warrior". He didn't talk much. In all actuality, he didn't talk at all. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, the right one terribly close to the broadsword hanging over his left shoulder and down his back.

The silence made Max curious about Mattimeo, though it tended to make others distance themselves from the foreboding warriors. She asked him if it would be possible fore him them to meet again. Mattimeo asked for her Sqwakpad and she gave it to him; watching him as he punched in a date, a time, and a set of coordinates into the drawing board before handing it back to her.

Since then, they met on Cybersite Mobeous and just talked. Max was greatly surprised to learn that he knew English because she was absolutely positive the warriors spoke a different language entirely.

They used to sit at a comfortable, friendly distance while they talked. With each meeting, they sat closer and closer until Max was leaning in the safety and security of his arm. During their last meeting, Mattimeo had even tripped off his armor, telling her with a wink: "I feel safe with you. And nothing will hurt us while we're here."

Max watched him untie the knots under his arms and pop the snaps open down his sides and hips. After he lifted the heavy breastplate up over his head and removed the protective helmet, he pulled Max into him; quietly singing a song in his strange, native tongue. Now that she thought about it, Max realized the song had the same tune as the lullaby Ada used to sing to her as a kid.

"Natsuhiboshi, why are you so red?  
Because I had a sad dream last night.  
My eyes are red from the tears I shed  
Swollen as I cried."

Max shook the last of the lyrics from her mind. She didn't want to cry for Mattimeo anymore. She knew doing so would only make her even more upset. She wiped her eyes on the edge of the white blanket, then got out of bed. She opened the drawer to her selection of tops and blinked questioningly at her choices.

She had short-sleeve shirts, long-sleeve shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts, button-up polos, and a few others in a variety of different colors. She wasn't blinking in confusion because she had no idea what ot wear. She was blinking in confusion because she thought her selection was somewhat diminished. Max could have sworn she had four, long-sleeve shirts made of a heavy-weave and was died blood-red. She was sure the shirts came with pants of the same kind of material and, upon opening her pants drawer, she noticed those were gone, too.

_Weren't they some kind of work uniform or something of the like?_ She thought.

She shook the thought from her mind and grabbed a brown tank top and a pair of denim shorts; tossing them on the bed. As she started to dress, she realized she didn't recognize the nightshirt she was wearing. I was white, paper-thin, and felt strange to her skin. Looking at herself in the mirror only worsened her opinion of the nightie – it looked like she had come out of the hospital.

She wrenched it off her body and threw it onto her bed in a crumpled up bundle, then stepped into her shorts and dragged the tank top over hear head. She decided against wearing any shoes and went barefoot out into the hall. There, she heard sining coming from the kitchen – Digit playing an off-key version of "Traveling Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks.

"Two days past eighteen.  
He was waitin' for the bus in his army green.  
Sat down in a booth, at the café there.  
Gave his order to the girl with a bow in her hair.  
He's a little shy, so she gives him a smile.  
And he said 'would you mind sittin' down for a while,  
and talkin' to me? I'm feeling a little low'.  
She said 'I'm off in an hour and I knew where we can go'.

So they went down and they sat on the pier.  
He said, 'I betcha gotta boyfriend but I don't care.  
I got no one to send a letter to.  
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?'

I cried, 'Never gonna hold the hand of another guy.'  
'Too young for him' they told her.  
Waitin' on the love of a travelin' soldier.  
'Our love will never end.  
Waitin' on the soldier to come back again.  
Never wanted to be alone.'  
'Til the letter said the soldier's comin' home."

Max walked in just before Digit could start into the next verse. "Didge, please don't sing that one." she said. _So much for not missing Mattimeo._ She thought.

Digit looked at her. "Why? It's a good song!" He said.

Max sat on the stool on the other side on the industrial-sized counter. She crossed her hands on the top in front of her, not saying a word in response. Digit caught on.

"Oh. Is this because of your friend, Mattimeo?" He said.

Max nodded.

"I'm sorry." he said, realizing that it was too soon. For Max, Mattimeo was the traveling solider who wasn't coming home. He swallowed. "We could play something else for you, instead." He suggested.

"Like what?" max said.

"Well, there's a song I want to share with you."

Max jumped at the sound of Echo's voice. She had been absorbed with reprimanding Digit that she barely noticed her human friend sitting on the stool next to her. Max stared at her. Here was something different about Echo. She seemed . . . happier. Max remembered Echo hadn't been like that when she came into Control Central.

"Would that be alright?" Echo asked.

Max shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "What?"

"Would it be alright for me to share a song with you? It's not from _my_ homeland, exactly, but ti's spoken in the same tongue; Gaelic. The song is called Dúlamán [1]." Echo said.

"Do la mon." Max said, sounding the word out, carefully. "Okay, sounds interesting."

Echo smiled. "Okay. But you're gonna have to help me. You only have four lines and you only have to do it when I tell you to."

"Okay?" Digit and Max said, skeptically.

"Dúlamán, Dúlamán, Gaelach." Echo said. The two tried out the three words and failed miserably. Echo carefully pronounced them, focusing mostly on the last word which had a rough guttural sound to it. Once they had it figured out, Echo gave them instructions on how many times to repeat it before launching into it. The were to say it seven times before the first verse was said.

"A 'níon mhín ó, Sin anall na fir shúirí  
A mháithairin mhín ó, Cuir Na roithléan go dtí mé.

Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach  
Dúlamán na farraige, B'fhearr a bhí in Élrinn."

A round of Dúlamán, Dúlamán, Gaelach was repeated twice by Max and Digit much to Echo's satisfaction when they got it right. Then she headed into the next verse.

"Tá ceann buí óir ar, An dúlamán gaelach  
Tá dhá chluais mhaol ar, An dúlamán maorach  
Bróga breaca dubha, Ar an dúlamán gaelach  
Tá bearéad agus triús ar, And dúlamán maroach.

Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach  
Dúlamán na farraige, B'fhearr a bhí in Élrinn."

That last bit must have been a chorus because Echo repeated it again. Max and Digit watched the young Scotch as she swayed back and forth on the linoleum. Her tongue expertly navigating the strange language with care.

"Góide a thug na tíre thú, Arsa an dúlamán gaelach  
Ag súirí le do níon, Arsa an dúlamán maorach  
Rachaimid chun Niúir leis, An dúlamán gaelach  
Ceannóimid bróga daora, Ar an dúlamán maorach.

Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach  
Dúlamán na farraige, B'fhearr a bhí in Élrinn.

"O chuir me sceala chici, Go gceannoinn cior di  
'Se'n sceal a chuir si chugam, Go raibh a cean ciortha."

Again the chorus was repeated twice. By that time, Max and Digit were able to copy the words, though they were a tad difficult to pronounce. Yet, Echo had no trouble with the language.

"Cha bhfaigheann tú mo 'níon, Arsa an dúlamán gaelach  
Bheul, fuadóidh mé liom í, Arsa an dúlamán maorach.  
Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach.

Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach  
Dúlamán na farraige, B'fhearr a bhí in Élrinn.  
Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach  
Dúlamán na farraige, B'fhearr a bhí, b'fhearr a bhi  
Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach  
Dúlamán na farraige, B'fhearr a bhí, b'fhearr a bhi  
B'fhearr a bhí in Élrinn."

Max and Digit clapped and Echo blushed redder than her hair. She curtsied politely; thanking them in her native tongue, before sitting down.

"That was lovely." Max said, hugging Echo. "What was that?"

"Gaelic, as I said before I started." Echo said. "All the Celtic countries speak it on Earth. It was my first language, actually."

"And the song, what does it mean?" Digit asked.

Echo shook her head. "I wouldn't suggest looking up any translations. The English kind of ruins the song."

Digit handed Max a bagel with a cream cheese spread, muttering about wondering how English could ruin a song he didn't understand anyway.

"I'd like very much to learn it, if you don't mind teaching me." Max said, taking a bite from one half of the bagel while she eyed her friend pleadingly. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until then and took an even larger bite from her bagel.

"Sure." Echo said. "I'll try to teach you as es I can. But, you're a little old to be learning a new language. Much less fluently. I've been speaking Gaelic since infancy so it comes easily to me. But it'll probably be different for you."

"Hey, Max can learn any language she wants to. She's good at that." Digit said in Max's defense. He was thinking of the two Shangrinese dialects she had learned beforehand; forgetting she didn't remember ever speaking it until Max gave him a strange look.

"When have I ever learned another language, Didge?" she asked.

Digit was quicker than usual to formulate an answer. "You're a smart kid. I'm sure you could do it." he said.

Max stared at him; not sure whether he was trying to flatter her or if he was hiding something. She went with the former and turned her attention back to Echo.

"Yeah. And I just want to learn the one song, anyway, not the whole language itself." she said.

"I think I can do that." Echo said. "The easiest way would be for me to print out the lyrics."

"No prob. My computer can do that." Max said. "I think your user name is still on there."

"That's true." Echo said. She pushed her empty plate aside – Max hadn't realized Echo had already eaten – stood up, and went back to their room.

Digit watched Max. Her eyes had a strange, far away look in them. He didn't like that this wasn't the same cyborg who used to protect him from Hacker – thinking of Hacker made Digit wonder what his own role was in this. What sort of back story did Pi make up to explain _his_ existence? He didn't dare ask Max for fear of raising suspicion and he decided to put the thought out of his mind. Instead, he reached across and touched Max's arm.

"I'm sorry about Mattimeo." he said.

"It's okay." Max said. "I wish I could've said goodbye to him is all." She swallowed. "Where's Dad at?"

"He went to a meeting with your mom and the other Cyber-heads. He'll be back soon." Digit said.

Max nodded, kind of wishing he had taken her with him.

0

"I'd say that went fairly well." Ada said, attempting to lighten the mood in the quiet cabin of the coop. She looked over at her beloved fiancé – the word made her squeal internally with delight – and noticed how he was sitting; face forward, hands clenched over the steering wheel in a tight vice, jaw tight. Ada knew the meeting hadn't gone quite as well as Marbles wanted. She reached across the console and took one of Marbles' hands in her own. He relinquished his hold, letting her touch in a comforting way and his face relaxed.

"It'll be okay, Matthias." Ada said.

"I know, Ada. But I can't help but feel like that isn't Max." Marbles said. "What if Pi did more than change her memories? What if he's completely reprogrammed her?"

"Now, Matthias." Ada gently chastised. "You know Erasmus wouldn't do that."

"It would be so easy for him to do it, though." Marbles reasoned. "He was in her head. If he wanted to, he could rearrange her programming to suit him."

"What makes you say that?" Ada asked, astonished. "Why are you accusing him of reprogramming her? Why are you even thinking about that?"

"He did it before." Marbles answered. "Already he's reprogrammed her memories. Especially the ones involving _that_ warrior."

"Mattimeo?"

Marbles nodded, repeating Pi's words to him about Max's memories of Mattimeo. Then, he sighed and said, "Why did we do it, Ada?"

"Do what?" Ada asked.

"Max . . . the warriors. Why did we let her become one of them? We should have said no when she wanted to be like them. Why didn't we?"

"Matthias, you're blaming yourself for things that can't be changed. Max wanted to be like them and we let her because it's what she wanted. Erasmus could have easily said no as well but he didn't. Are you going to blame him for having the final say in this?"

"Maybe a little." Marbles admitted. "But, if we hadn't let her, none of this would have happened."

"What's that supposed to mean? Matthias, evil would have found some way to get to her – and you – even if she hadn't become a Page and an Apprentice!"

"But Max's pain started after I invented Hieronymus." Marbles pointed out. "If I hadn't made him, none of this would have happened."

"You needed help with Motherboard. That's all there is to it."

"But, I could have waited! Instead, I got impatient. I couldn't wait for Max to come back, so I made an assistant. In essence, I replaced Max when she couldn't be here."

Ada's mouth dropped open. She realized Marbles had been carrying this around with him for a while. Probably since the night Max was kidnapped. The night he realized Max's belief that Hacker as evil was true.

"You've been blaming yourself for this all this time, haven't you?" Ada said.

"Isn't it _my_ fault anyway?" Marbles said.

"No! It's not!" Ada said. "Look, you may have made Hacker, but he was responsible for his own actions. Everyone knows what you did but they don't blame you for it. Max doesn't blame you for it either. Isn't that enough?"

"Of course she doesn't blame me _now_! She doesn't even know he existed! But she will and she'll know what I did."

"Matthias, she never blame you."

"But she will."

Ada touched his cheek with her fingertips. "What are you afraid of more – her blaming you or not?"

"Both. . . . And her hating me for it all."

"She can't hate you, Matthias. And I know she won't. She loves you too much to hate you for a mistake you hadn't meant to make. You need to stop this insanity before it gets out of hand."

"I can't, Ada. I just can't. Not until I know for sure."

"You never talked to her about it?"

"No."

"Maybe you should when she remembers."

Marbles nodded, making a silent promise to talk to Max when her memories came back.

After parking the coop in the docking bay, the two of them headed up to the housing sector on the way to the kitchen for lunch, they heard a sound coming from Max's room. Marbles paused and listened to the sound. It sounded Shangrinese, almost, but after a minute, he realized it wasn't what he thought it was.

He entered the room and saw Max and Echo sitting on Echo's bed. Max was reading something aloud from a paper and Echo corrected her where needed.

"What are you doing?" Marbles asked, gently.

Max grinned. "I'm learning a song called Dúlamán. It's written in Gaelic." She smiled, showing him the paper.

"Oh really?" Marbles said, sighing with relief. "How's she doing?" He directed that question at Echo.

"Well, she slips up here and there, but she's doing pretty well. She's a natural at this." Echo said.

Marbles nodded. Max learned things quickly and she loved learning new skills. _At least that hasn't changed._ He thought.

Max looked at his face. "Dad, did you want something?"

"Yeah. I'm going to catch some lunch then do some diagnostics on Motherboard. You want to help me with that?"

"Sure. Let me know when you're ready." Max said. Her brown eyes flashed with excitement at the prospect of helping her dad during a diagnostic test. The glee resembled that of one from her youth.

_That hasn't changed either._ Marbles thought. _Maybe she's not so different after all. Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought it was._

"Okay, sweetheart. Carry on." Marbles said.

"Okay." Max said. She and Echo went back to Max's Gaelic lesson. Echo patiently correcting Max's feeble attempts at pronouncing things.

Marbles walked away, wondering if this was the same way Max attempted to learn Shangrinese. _At least now she seems happy._

* * *

[1] Dúlamán- These are the Gaelic lyrics to the song Dúlamán. I would strongly suggest listening to the song on Youtube to get the full impact on the song. The one sung by Celtic Woman is the best. I'm also really proud of myself b/c I spent a good half-hour putting accent marks in the lyrics where they belong and the document manager accepted them. THANK YOU ! anyway, I would also highly suggest not looking at the english lyrics to the song b/c it kind of runs the effect. If you want to know what they're saying, more power to you.


	4. Hazy Recollections

_Chapter Four. Looks like I'm still shelling out chapters left and right. Anyway, Ledge's reasons for killing Max and Marbles are in this chapter.  
_

___I don't own Cyberchase or Huntik_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass._

* * *

Chapter Four  
Hazy Recollections

Barterum was a small Cybersite right-smack-dab on the very edge of Cyberspace. People used to say "It's on the outer rim" but there was no rim to Cyberspace to speak of. It was just outside Motherboard's visual-audio communication range. Unless if absolutely necessary, nobody bothered to go there – Barterum was full of shady people with a lot of secrets to hide. But Master Pi needed to see someone who might hold all the answers.

Ginny, a fellow Alchemist like Pi, greeted him and the Red Warrior when their coop landed by her food stand. Her thin face was pinched into a frown and once more, Pi regretted waking her up.

"Good morning, Ginny." Pi said, gently.

Ginny nodded once, still frowning, and motioned with her hand that the two borgs follow her to Warren's cave. The two Shangrinese borgs said nothing; knowing that Ginny was saving her voice to reprimand Warren for whatever it was he had done.

The cave was really a chasm, painted in pictogram scenes of Warren's sin. Pi was not surprised to see Dominator was not there. But Warren's memory of the uncontrollable Titan was sharp enough to remember that Titan forever. Not too far from the wall was Warren's magic bottle; bulbous at the base and narrow all the way up to the neck. When Warren was first sentenced to live out his warranty in the bottle, a transmutation circle was placed across the cork and rim of the bottle to make sure he never escaped. But the circle had been broken when Hacker pulled the cork out and demanded Warren help him.

Ginny stopped at the door and let Pi approach the bottle. Pi touched the base of the bottle gently with his hand. Inside, he could still feel Warren. Pi stepped back.

"Warren, I need to talk to you. Please come out." Pi said.

"No." Warren said, his voice muffled by the bottle.

Pi remained patient. He had anticipated Warren being difficult. "Warren, it's very important that I talk to you. Please come out."

"No." Warren said, still being stubborn.

"Warren, you come out of that bottle right now!" Ginny said.

The bottle trembled for a moment, then a voluptuous genie appeared. He looked sheepishly at his shrewd mother, than at Pi.

"What is this about?" he asked.

"Good question." Ginny said. "What _is_ this about, Erasmus? My Warren has been staying put in his bottle. There's no way he could be casuing problems out there these days. Right, Warren?"

"Yes, Mother." Warren said, submissively.

"You're son isn't in trouble, Ginny. Quite the contrary, the only thing I want from him is locked inside his brain." Pi said.

"There is nothing in my brain that you want." Warren said.

"Tell me about the borg named Ledge."

"Ledge?" Warren cocked his head at Pi. "I don't know anything about Ledge. I don't even know anyone by this name either."

"Erasmus, what is this about?" Ginny said.

"Ledge is the one who murdered Maxanne Marbles nearly a week ago. Now, we know he talked to Warren because Warren was the only one who knew about Dominator and so do the Plo'BaQ'krum who were there that day. We know Ledge talked to Warren and we also know that Warren told Ledge about it because Ledge had it. He used it to detain Max when she attempted to escape."

"Erasmus, he could have spoken to anyone about Dominator." Ginny said.

"Yes, but any of those Plo'BaQ'krum would know better than to talk to him about it. That Titan doesn't exist in any written record. I don't know how he knew about it, but he did. And he wanted answers – the location of the Dominator. Warren talked, didn't you?"

Warren blinked. "I'm not sure what the question is supposed to be." he said.

Pi could tell by the vacant look in Warren's eyes that he really didn't know. Then, the question itself was much too vague for him to understand. Pi tried a different angle.

"Did you talk to anyone about Dominator?"

"No." Warren said.

"There you have it, Erasmus. He didn't talk to anyone." Ginny said. "Least of all Ledge."

"Oh, he knows he talked to Ledge. Just not consciously. The memory is in there, I just have to access it." Pi said.

"He already said he doesn't know Ledge." Ginny said.

Pi turned to Ginny. "What are you afraid of, Ginny?"

"I just think this is a white of time." Ginny answered. "Max is alive and Ledge is dead now. What does it matter?"

"It matters to the Heads of Sensible Flatts. I promised them answers. And you know how I feel about promises."

Ginny did know. She also knew it was impossible to sway him from his promises. She threw up her hands and grunted in frustration. Pi flicked his fingers at Red, giving him instructions in Vol'kahR. Red handed Pi a photo and Pi held it up to Warren's face.

"Does this help?" he asked.

Warren stared at the boy in he photo. His face was unfamiliar, but the eyes were. Those pale blue eyes – flat, cold, sinister – caused a convulsion to go down Warren's back.

"Now I remember." he said, averting his gaze.

Pi put the photo away. "Tell me about it, Warren."

Warren swallowed before saying it.

1

_Warren had been pretty obedient of his mother. Aside from a few mishaps involving a rivalry with Hacker, Warren stayed in his battle. Never leaving. Such isolation was lonely._

"_Warren, I need to talk to you."_

_This was the the voice of his mother. This was the voice of a kid. A teenage boy. Warren poked his head out, curiosity overpowering his mother's wrath. He saw _him. _The boy was well-dressed and presentable. But his eyes were eerily lifeless. Warren was paralyzed by their intense gaze._

"_I can't come out." Warren said._

"_Nobody's going to know." the boy said. "I just want to ask you a few questions."_

_Warren found he wasn't able to say no. He came out of his bottle and sat on the rim; waiting for the questions to begin._

"_He tried to take over Cyberspace a long time ago, right?"_

"_Yes."_

"_And you weren't very successful at it, were you?"_

"_No."_

"_And you didn't do it alone, did you?"_

_A long pause. "No."_

"_Who helped you?"_

"_Dominator."_

"_Dominator? Is that a person?"_

"_No. It's a thing. A – a Titan."_

_The boy looked interested in this Titan. His cold eyes flashed and Warren could not suppress a shudder. He didn't want to talk about that abominable creature._

_But those eyes couldn't let him do anything else. Warren couldn't look away._

"_Who did the most damage – you or Dominator?" the boy continued to ask._

"_Dominator." Warren said, completely against his will._

"_Now this is really important, Warren, I need you to tell me exactly where Dominator is now."_

_The spell was broken. Warren had been forbidden from talking about the Titan's location. The Alchemists made sure that Warren couldn't disclose the Titan's location. At least, not unless if the person asking was another Alchemist. Now, the tables were turned.._

"_Why do you need to know?" he asked._

"_Vengeance." the boy said, simply._

"_Who are you trying to avenge?"_

"_My father. Maxanne Marbles killed him."_

"_So, you want to kill Maxanne Marbles?"_

"_Yes. And everyone she loves. Dr. Marbles especially."_

"_You want to kill Dr. Marbles, too? Why?"_

_The boy shrugged. "Just cause." The eyes hardened and Warren was unable to stop himself from answering the boy's last question. When the interview was finished, the boy smiled. "Thank you, Warren. But I can't have you telling anyone about my visit or my plans. Simplemind."_

0

"After that, I found myself back in my bottle." Warren said.

Pi nodded. Ledge was being careful about covering his tracks. Even going as far as erasing Warren's mind of the interrogation. He doubted, though, that Ledge was able to do the spell without exhausting himself.

"Thank you, Warren." Pi said, putting his hands inside his wide sleeves. "You've been most helpful."

Warren looked troubled. "He didn't hurt Max or Dr. Marbles, did he?" he asked.

Pi shook his head. "No, he didn't." he lied.

Warren looked relieved.

As Pi and Red left, Red leaned close to his master. "Master, what do you make of this? Of Ledge and his self-imposed mission?"

"I think we found our answer." Pi said. "**'Just cause'**. That was his answer. This may not have been just about vengeance. He wanted to do it to begin with. Killing a well-respected family like the Marbles' . . . well, he would be infamous. And dangerous."

"So, he acted nice on Sensible Flatts just so he could be accepted. He had the personality of a Venus flytrap, didn't he?" Red said.

"Yes. I suppose you could say that." Pi answered.

"Not that we know the truth, what do we do now?"

"Now, we wait."

"For Max?"

"Yes. She will return to us soon enough. And I know just how to do it."

Red could tell by the look on his leader's face that it wouldn't be pretty. Forced recollections of a traumatic past never was pretty. All that it took was a gentle nudge in the right direction.

Sometimes, not even a gentle nudge. Sometimes, it took a shove.


	5. Phases

_Chapter Five. Yep, I'm still working on it. I have quite a few ideas for future chapters too. Some of you might hate me.  
_

___I don't own Cyberchase_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass._

* * *

Chapter Five  
Phases

In the weeks that followed Max's mind wipe, there was very little progression toward her getting her memories back. The ones that did come back, however, were harmless bits of information that she could have known anyway. Though, it was painfully obvious that she was getting her memory back because she would stop what she was doing and stare blankly at whatever was in front of her face. Everyone, including Echo, watched Max with bated breath; half-expecting a sudden temper tantrum or a relapse. When nothing of the sort took place – meaning, she would blink and return to her current activity – they all let out a sigh of relief.

Max seemed to have very few questions about what she had seen. Whether it was because she had unconsciously accepted that it was a forgotten memory or because there wasn't anything to question. Marbles impatiently wished she would at least say _something_ – anything to indicate what the vision could possibly be. Instead, she kept quiet and Marbles, who had already formulated answers to possible questions regarding her life, would sigh in aggravation and store the answers away for another time. One day, however, his wish had come true; but not about a subject he was hoping she would ask about.

The scars.

Max had seven of them now on her body. The only reason why she noticed them was because they were quite visible against her pale-blue skin when she was showering. Seven, round holes. Smooth indentations. The smallest was located just between her metallic breasts below the neck of her tank top. The biggest ones were on her sides only just half-way between her hips and where her ribs would be if she was human. The other four she couldn't see because they were stuck on her back, but she did see them in the mirror.

"Dad." Max said, finding her father in the workshop. "Where did these come from?" She lifted her shirt, showing Marbles the scars.

Marbles fumbled for an answers; afraid telling her the truth would only provoke an episode of bad recollections, though he hated telling her any lies.

"You were in an accident, Max." he said. "You and I were down in the fluid department. You were holding up a pipe while I was bolting it in place, when my wrench slipped and the pipe fell. There were four bolts that punctured your back. You're lucky they missed everything important."

Max looked at him. Those kind of accidents were commonplace in any maintenance position. And while Marbles had been careful to keep his story straight, Max had heard a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Really? I didn't know I was that clumsy." she said.

"You weren't." Marbles said. "It was my fault. I had you standing too close to the joint."

"I should have known better than to stand that close." Max said.

"I needed you closer. It made it easier to hold the pipe in position while I wrenched it in place." Marbles said.

Max accepted that story, but it wasn't like Marbles to be that neglectful. She turned and picked up the front of her shirt. "What's this one from?" she asked, pointing to the smaller scar.

"Pressure gauge went nuts in that same room and a screw popped loose. You're lucky it missed your harddrive." Marbles said, again using a situation that was likely to happen.

"Sounds like I need to stay out of the pipelines." Max said. "Bad things happen to me there."

"It's okay, Max. I only call you down there when I need you." Marbles said.

"Now these. Where did these come from?" She turned to the side and pointed to the scars on her waist.

Marbles was at a loss to answer that one. The holes weren't in a good place for any good reason. And while all he could think about was the fact that was where Ledge had flooded her with hydrofluoric acid, he knew he had to come up with an answer. He settled on something else instead.

"I – I don't actually know where those came from." he said.

Max stared at him, quizzically, and Marbles waited. Had she caught him in a lie?

"I suppose I can't expect you to remember everything that goes on in my body or what happens to me." Max said. She left the room and Marbles breathed a sigh of relief.

After that, Max didn't ask any more questions. But the recollections continued to come. The best of which occurred in Max's sleep. Echo told Marbles Max had started talking her her sleep. Marbles shrugged it off.

"She always talked in her sleep, even as a kid." he said.

"Did she talk much after she killed Hacker?" Echo asked.

"No. I didn't even know she was having dreams about him until the day you brought her back." He reached over and patted her on the head. "Thank you for that, by the way. I don't know where we'd be without her. And you."

"You're welcome, but it wasn't her time." Echo said.

"No, it wasn't." Marbles agreed. "But, was that your only reason for bringing her back?"

"No. There are other reasons. But that's one of the biggest ones." Echo said.

Marbles went back to assembling a circuit board, peering at the tiny filaments on the board through his magnifying glass. While he carefully soldered the filaments, he could feel an intense amount of curiosity.

"So, what's Max been saying in her sleep? Could you tell?" Marbles asked.

"No. She's been talking in her sleep in another language." Echo said.

"Well, you were teaching her that song in Gaelic." Marbles reasoned.

"This isn't Gaelic. And it's not English either. Otherwise, I could say I know what it is."

Marbles put down his soldering iron. "Is it Vul'kahR?"

"Sounds like it. But I'm not an expert on the languages of Shangri-La."

"Does she seem to be okay?" Marbles asked, afraid that dreams involving the primary Shangrinese language would be traumatizing to her.

"Yeah. If anything she seems . . . happy. Like she's talking to Mattimeo. Or a friend."

Marbles sighed. "As long as that's all." he said, now at ease.

"It is." Echo assured him.

But, while he was at ease with Max talking in Vul'kahR while sleeping, then something made things much worse.

1

It happened unexpectedly one night.

Echo – who was still experiencing periods of insomnia due to dark memories she could talk to anyone about – reported that Max was sleeping peacefully through the night. Aside from the one-side conversations in Vul'kahR that is.

This night, in particular, started out the same. Max laid down and headed into sleep-mode. A few minutes later, the conversations started. For Echo, it was like a rerun. A boring, subtly romantic rerun. Max seemed to be using the same words over and over again in the same order as the first night this happened. There was an unmistakable smile on her face. A smile that formed over her mouth flashing through the words she couldn't speak and wouldn't understand in her waking hours. Echo was able to pick up a few discernible words here and there. But the word that caught her greatest attention was T'hai'la – the only word Echo recognized and knew the meaning to.

Echo relaxed, laying back on her pillow. She listened to the rest of the conversation, hoping that it would soon stop. But, when it did, it resulted in something unexpected. The dream ceased to be pleasant for Max. The smile vanished and her hands balled up into fists around her pillow.

Echo continued to watch her as Max's breathing quickened. Suddenly, she began to moan in her sleep.

"No. Stop. No! No! NO! STOP IT! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Max sat bolt upright, brown eyes dim from a half-expelled dream. The scream had awakened everyone and, soon, even Ada came into the room.

"Max,what's wrong?" Ada said.

Max blinked, looking at her mother as though seeing her for the first time. After a few minutes of blinking and staring, Max finally shook her head and laid down on her side, curling up into a ball.

"Nothing. I'm sorry I woke you." she said, the words coming out a garbled mess.

Marbles glanced over at Echo who shrugged.

"Okay, honey." Ada said. She took Marbles by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

Once they were gone, Echo slid out of bed and approached. From the top drawer of Max's dresser, she took out the amulet she had given to Max only a few weeks ago. Master Pi had allowed Max to keep the jewel but he had erased knowledge of its magical properties from her mind. Max wore it, daily, then put it away at night before going to sleep.

Holding the amulet in one hand, she touched Max on the forehead with the other. For the rest of the night, Max slept very soundly.

The next morning over breakfast, Marbles reached over and patted Max on the head; ruffling her short, unruly hair, fondly, until she raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Max said, shaking his hand off her head. Marbles let his arm drop; respecting her boundaries.

"That sounded like quite the dream last night." Digit said.

Max stabbed at her breakfast; unhappy now. As thought she hadn't wanted to think about the dream at all. "It was." was all she had to say.

"Care to talk about it?" Digit asked, softly. Marbles shot him a withering look, one the cyboid ignored.

Max put her fork down and continued to stare at the bacon and eggs Digit had whipped up this morning. She leaned back with her bare arms crossed over her chest.

"Was it really that bad?" Digit pressed.

Max nodded.

"What was it about?" Digit continued to press.

"Enough, Digit." Marbles said when Max simply refused to answer. He was being reprimanding no just because of Max's feelings but also because he was afraid she would get suspicious and start asking why he was so curious. Digit wasn't very good at keeping secrets and Marbles was pleased he was able to keep secrets so far. He turned to Max. "You don't have to share if you don't want to, honey. But if you do, you know where to find me."

Max nodded but said nothing. The silence said everything she couldn't. The dream had scared her.

Later that day, while Marbles was in his workshop, he received a call from Master Pi.

"How is everything?" Pi asked, conversationally.

"Fine, for the most part." Marbles answered.

"For the most part?" Pi asked.

Marbles quickly filled Pi in on what was going on with Max; knowing that was what he was really curious about. He told Pi about Max's dreams where she was speaking Vul'kahR, the questions about the scars, the temporary blackouts, and also about her dream last night.

"It was so horrible. It sounded like she was in pain." Marbles added. "Was that a suppressed memory?"

"You could say that." Pi said.

"I could say that? Would it be true?" Marbles said, suddenly very suspicious.

"Yes . . . and no."

"So, it's _your_ doing!" Marbles accused.

"Why does that surprise you?" Pi asked. "I told you she would remember details of her life soon and slowly. Occasionally, a little nudge is necessary to get her pointed in the right direction."

"A _little_ nudge? Erasmus, that sounded like a nightmare!" Marbles said, incredulously.

"In case you haven't noticed, Matthias, her life following the lives of Hieronymus and Ledge were nightmares. Some of what she'll experience will be nightmares." Pi said.

"So, did you program this recollection or did you make it happen yourself just last night?" Marbles said.

"Both." Pi said, admittedly.

Marbles frowned. Alchemy didn't used to bother him before, but now it id. The fact Pi was able to manipulate Max's dreams from a distance did not sit well with him. This seemed to hurt her more than it helped. And Marbles hated it.

He swallowed. "What did she dream about, or don't you know?"

"She dreamed about Hacker abusing her with her quarter stave." Pi said.

Marbles blanched. He knew all about the daily beatings she endured as Hacker's captive. He also knew that the abuse grew progressively worse when he turned her into a gargoyle. The brank and the electrocutions – stabbing her repeatedly with high-voltage cattle prods until she lost consciousness. He hoped she wouldn't remember that.

"I won't show her everything, Matthias." Pi said, as thought he could read Marbles' mind – and Marbles didn't doubt he could. "Just bits and pieces here and there to get her pointed in the right direction."

"Just so you know, I don't approve." Marbles said.

Pi laughed. "Somehow, I didn't think you would."

"Just don't push her too hard." Marbles said. He knew Pi would keep nudging her no matter what he said, so he decided to lay down a few boundaries. "I don't want her in a worse mess than she was before now."

"Of course not." Pi said. "I'm only going to show her a few things here and there. That's all."

"That had better be all." Marbles warned.

Pi smiled. "Matthias, you really are a good father. Even now, you're protecting her against what you see as a potentially dangerous situation."

"I don't like seeing Max get hurt." Marbles said.

"That's what makes you a good father. You were worried you wouldn't live up tot standards but you are. You're looking out for your daughter. Despite all your apprehensions, you slipped into the role of fatherhood quite nicely."

"It comes with time." Marbles said. "And lots of patience. Not to mention, Max made it easy."

"I'm sure she did." Pi said.

With nothing else to talk about, the two disconnected.

0

Pi looked over his shoulder at Red, his near-constant companion.

"Master?" Red asked. "Did it work?"

"Yes. It worked. Next is phase two." Pi answered.

"How long do you need?"

"Not long. Only a couple of days to prepare this one."

"Shall I call Gowjin?"

Pi thought about it. Gowjin, too, would be instrumental in Max's memories. But Gowjin wasn't known for being patient.

"Not yet." Pi said. "I'll need him before long. But I won't involve him until phase three is ready. Until then, leave me while I prepare number two."

Red bowed. "Yes, Master." Then, he left.

1

Digit decided to make gingerbread cookies and, surprisingly enough, Max decided to help.

The two friends stood at the counter mixing dough and cutting out shapes and placing the cookies in the over. Echo sat across from them, drawing the scene in her sketchpad; stopping on occasion to decorate the cookies when the trays were laid out in front of her. One cookie came out cracked and disastrous-looking. Max and Digit looked at the cookie, then back at each other with a wide grin on their faces. Echo cocked an eyebrow at them; wondering what sinister thoughts could be going through their heads.

Digit laid the cookie out on wax paper and dribbled red food coloring into the cuts and over the hands.

"Caryl! There's a dead human in our house!" Digit said.

Max looked innocently at the cookie. "Oh hey! How did he get here?"

"Caryl, What did you do?" Digit demanded.

Echo quickly realized this was another Llamas in Hats segment.

"Me? Ah, eh, ah – I didn't do this." Max answered, feigning innocence.

"Explain what happened Caryl!" Digit ordered.

"I have never seen him before in my life." Max said, stubbornly.

"Why did you kill this person, Caryl?"

"I do not kill people. That is – that is my least favorite thing to do."

"Tell me, Caryl, exactly what you were doing before I got home." Digit ordered, not buying Max's innocents.

"Okay. Well, I was upstairs . . ." Max began. She looked up at the ceiling as though trying to recall events.

"Okay." Digit said.

". . . I was – I was sitting in my room . . ."

"Yes."

". . . reading a book . . ."

"Go on."

"And, well, this guy walked in . . ."

"Okay."

"So I went up to him . . ."

"Yes."

"And I – uh – I stabbed him thirty-seven times in the chest." Max looked guilty.

Digit was silent for a whole thirty seconds. Then, ". . . Caryl, that kills people!"

"Oh."

"Caryl!"

"I did not know that." She looked surprised.

"_How could you not know that?_" Digit asked, not sure as though he actually believed that.

"Yeah, I'm in the wrong here. I suck." She hung her head but Echo could see a small smile still on her face. A malicious smile as though she was enjoying all of this.

"Where are his hands?" Digit asked.

"What was that?" Max asked.

"His hands. Why are they missing?" Digit repeated.

"Well, I sort of cooked them up. . . . And I ate them."

Another thirty seconds of silence. ". . . Caryl!"

"Well I was hungry. And when you crave hands –" Max said, as though that was an excuse for her atrocious behavior.

"Why on earth would you do that?" Digit asked, cutting her off.

"I was hungry for hands! Give me a break!" Max said, unrepentant.

"Caaaryllll!" Digit stretched the name out as long as he could in one breath.

"My tummy was making the rumblies . . ." Max said in an ominous voice with a satisfied grin on her face.

"Caryl!" Digit scolded.

". . . that only hands would satisfy." Max continued.

"What is wrong with you, Caryl?" Digit asked.

"Well, I kill people and I eat hands, so that's – that's two things."

"That's gross." Echo said. "I can't believe you guys watch that."

Digit shrugged and Max didn't answer. She had a blank stare on her face as she eyed the end of the counter as they looking for someone there.

"Max?" Digit said, touching her hinged elbow. Max blinked at looked at him. "Something wrong?"

"I was trying to think, where's – never mind."

As Max ducked her head to finish cutting out cookies, Digit and Echo gave each other a meaningful look. There wasn't any doubt in their minds that Max was about to ask the whereabouts of Lok. Truth was, they didn't know where Lok was. The last time he was there was to clear out his room of his belongings; even taking Cherit with him. Marbles had kept Max busy rebuilding towers for Ephraim Archimedes so she wouldn't run into her former apprentice. Only Echo had been present to see Lok of once his things were collected and he told her he wanted to see Max before he left even though he knew things would turn out bad if he did.

"I don't like Master wiping her mind like that." Lok told Echo in confidence. "He treated her like a criminal. There had to be another way."

"According to Master Pi and Motherboard there wasn't." Echo said.

"But there should have been. Maybe letting her take a hiatus from being a warrior could have helped her or giving her therapy or treatment options. This doesn't feel right."

"No it doesn't." Echo agreed. "But it's the choice she made. We have to respect that. They'll come back in time."

"I know." Lok said, running his fingers through his wild, white-blond hair. With nothing else to say, he told Echo "see yah" and left.

Echo looked down at her sketchpad and Digit went back to mixing ingredients.

_How much did Max remember about Lok?_ they wondered.


	6. The Truth

_Chapter Six. If you haven't already, please read the story description. Notice anything? Yep, I made a subtle but rather neccessary change to my cyberchase stories. A Black Heart, A Tortured Soul, and A Warrior Reborn are now part of "The Evil Within Trilogy". A Shield-Maiden's Strife and A Deadly Secret now have a series all their own: "Like Souls Saga". You'll see why I call it Like Souls here in a few chapters. Two or three, perhaps.  
_

_Anyway, this chapter is short. Very short. Only like two whole pages in my notebook. Yet, despite it's length, I've had a lot of trouble with writing it b/c SOMEBODY (hint hint cough cough max!) didn't want me to work on anything. She also made it impossible for me to work on Science-Based Mutate (X-Men Evolution) and Twisted Destinies: Fire (Avatar Legend of Korra). As payback, I've devised a much later chapter which has further irritated me but now I have free-reign over what stories to work on. In case you were wondering, no I'm not crazy. Some of you know what I'm talking about when I say "my characters are rebelling". If you do, please give me a "hell yeah".  
_

___I don't own Cyberchase_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass._

* * *

Chapter Six  
The Truth. A Slap to the Face Kind of Truth

Master Pi was heading out once more. His destination: Sensible Flatts to see the twin leaders of the dusty, western-style Site; though he was unhappy about going at all. This meeting could only raise more hackles and cause animosity than closure. Pi had never necessarily been close to Judge Trudy and Sheriff Judy. He knew them since their youth but both had lifestyles that were vastly different than the Shangrinese way of life.

Pi rubbed his eyes. He hated being the harbinger of bad news but it couldn't be helped. The judge wanted answers and Pi was willing to give them to her. Though, he suspected neither sister would accept their findings as a reason. Pi had to admit "Just 'cause" was a stupid reason. It wasn't a reason at all in Pi's opinion. Merely a black answer so he didn't have to tell anyone what his real answer was.

_If only I hadn't traded Ledge for Matthias. Dominator had been enough. Why did I just heal Ledge and have him arrested for interrogation?_ Pi wondered.

He considered who might have been the best choice to interrogate Ledge had that scenario actually happened. Garrett might be a good choice considering his feelings for Max. Thaddeus was another good choice – big, powerful-looking, no-nonsense.

But, alas, that couldn't happen. Pi had traded Ledge and Dominator in for Matthias. Max was young. She was born with attachments to family. At the moment, she couldn't live without her beloved father who meant the world to her. Warriors weren't supposed to have such attachments which was why Cochise built the factory in the Bellowing Hills. But Max was a good kid and an excellent warrior. She didn't deserve to loose that one precious individual she had.

"Master?" Red said from the doorway. "The coop is ready to depart."

"Thank you, Red." Pi said, rising.

He grabbed his scepter and hovered at the door while his most trusted Thane followed him. Pi knew Red had something on his mind. the two had been close for what felt like forever. Red had always accompanied him.

"Master, how well do you think they will take it?" Red asked, quietly.

"Not well at all." Pi said.

Red nodded. Nothing good could come out of this meeting. The twin rulers of Sensible Flatts were simply incapable of accepting any truths other than what they already knew. Though Pi could understand their reluctance easily enough.

The cyberheads had all watched Max grow up. They also saw Hacker and knew what his role was. They had seen what Hacker did to Max and they had watched him torture the young cyborg-gargoyle repeatedly with the most dangerous of elements to a gargoyle. They knew she had almost died at his hands a few times. Yet, despite all his evil works and intentions, he wasn't a threat.

And then there was Ledge. A boy. Nobody really wanted to believe a kid could be capable of taking lives. Hacker had been dangerous enough. To even imply that a kid was worse than Hacker was a hard pill to swallow. A ill neither sister was willing to swallow.

_No. Not a pill. A jelly bean._ Pi thought. _An earwax-flavored jellybean._1

Pi smiled at the memory. It was April Fool's day and Alphius had brought a bowl of jelly beans to a meeting and told everyone to help themselves. Many of them were suspicious about the beans but the twins quickly ate one. Judge Trudy got one that she said tasted like grass and Sheriff Judy got one that tasted like ear wax. After that, the beans had been avoided entirely. But Pi will never forget the looks of disgust that showed on the twin's faces after that.

The meeting with the twins went just as Pi feared. Neither the judge nor the sheriff wanted to accept "just 'cause" as Ledge's answer. That wasn't a reason, it was an excuse. They were even more upset that Pi didn't have anything more to go on and Pi couldn't help but wish he hadn't traded Ledge in for Marbles, again. Perhaps, if ledge were still here, questions would have more decent answers.

"If there's nothing else, Erasmus, I suggest you leave and don't come back." Judge Trudy said, angrily.

"There is nothing else, Trudy." Pi said. "I'm sorry I don't have anything better to tell you."

Trudy _harrumphed_ but said nothing.

Pi inclined his head to the two leaders then left with Red at his side. Red shook his head, sadly.

"It's just as you feared, Master. They were unwilling to accept it." said the warrior.

"Did you expect them to?" Pi asked.

"No, Master, I did not." Red answered as he and his unquestioned leader climbed into the coop. "Where to?"

"Wyvern." Pi said.

Red was at a loss for words. "Master, must we involve _him_?"

"We have waited long enough. Gowjin will be instrumental in bringing Max back to us. It is time we began the next phase of our plan."

* * *

1Earwax-flavored jelly bean – Harry Potter series; one of many flavors of Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans.


	7. The Test

_Chapter Seven. Sorry this took so long. I've been working off and on on this chapter as well as future chapters but I finally finished it.  
_

___Along the way, I've also been reviewing chapters in the other stories in both Evil Within and Like-Souls and I've made some corrections here and there. The biggest correction is Marbles name. I have, since, started calling him Mathias and will, henseforth, be calling him Mathias. Primarily because now that i'm working closely with Kawaii Stella i needed some way to differentiate bewteen the two Marbleses. so, my marbles will be referred to by his first name._

___anyway, in this chapter you will notice a couple of things. One is a vague reference to a secret Max has kept even from her father. and, ten imaginary points to the person who can tell me where the term Batleth comes from and what it means/is._

___I don't own Cyberchase_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass.  
_

* * *

Chapter Seven  
The Test

Cybersite Wyvern was the one and only Site truly inhabited by gargoyles. In fact, gargoyles were the only inhabitants of Wyvern, and because of their agreement with the cyborgs, it was the only place they were allowed to live without being disturbed by others. Gargoyles could not leave the Site and cyborgs could not come onto the Site.

Except for a few.

Erasmus Pi was well aware of the treaty between the cyborgs and gargoyles having been among those that helped write it up. He knew that visiting the Site was strictly forbidden, but his presence here was necessary for the next stage of the plan. He had to see Gowjin, the head of Wyvern, and an unusually gargoyle to say the least, which was precisely why Erasmus liked him.

The gargoyles glowered at Pi and Red as the two boys emerged from their coop; the brutish creatures kept back, ready for a confrontation. But neither Shangrinese cyborg had any desire to have a confrontation with them. Their goal in life had been to establish a good standing relationship with these inimical creatures.

The beasts drew even farther back as Pi and Red came closer; some growling and others hissing in warning. Pis gaze shifted between each creature, noting the many colors and hues among them and also joyfully noting the newest additions to their number. But there was one he didn't see and he knew that one was nearby.

"Gowjin! Step forth!" Pi called in KulG'GahR.

There was a pause, then the masses parted and a tough-looking male brute wedged his way between them. The Wyvernian sun slanted off his ebony scales and cast rainbow-hued specks on the grass as the leader came forth; his enormous paws taking dainty steps, closing the distance.

Pi took a moment to admire him. He was an impressive beast, much taller and more robust than the others with a full set of ram's horns curling around his leonine ears. He was completely black, even his eyes were black and were only recognized out of his face through a glittering in the intelligent-looking orbs.

He stopped and Pi smiled as gargoyle cub danced out of the line and joined the big leader; prancing around his huge frame like a puppy.

"Gowjin." Pi said, nodding.

"Erasmus." the bull-gargoyle said, also nodding. "What can I do for you?"

"I need your help, Gowjin." Pi said. "Do you remember Maxanne Marbles?"

Gowjin cocked his head, ignoring the cub which was now gnawing on his paw with shiny milk-teeth. "You mean the gargoyle which is not a gargoyle?"

"Yes." Pi answered.

A collective growl sounded from the peanut gallery and Pi knew they all remembered Max. As far as they were concerned, Max was a deceiver. She did not belong to their world and while they had tolerated her enough to let her learn their ways, they did not include her in much of their lifestyle.

Gowjin's own ears turned back, gently. "Yes, I remember her." he said. "Her name is not spoken among our kind and after she left, she was not welcome here. Your own presence – for sending her here – is also a bane for us. My people are uneasy with you."

"My apologies." Pi said. "I do not mean to make your people ill at ease. I have merely come with a request. I hope you will be willing to assist me, Gowjin."

Gowjin lifted a paw and the cub tumbled under it; a tiny mass of wings and scales. Its muddy-brown skin dotted with crystals in the sun. Gowjin laid his paw over the cub's head in a way to tell it to hold still. "What request, Erasmus? I am listening."

Pi immediately filled Gowjin in on the details of Max's life so far and also told the bull-gargoyle his plans to bring her back to their world. When he was finished, Gowjin frowned.

"And you want me to turn her in the right direction?" he asked.

"Yes." Pi answered. "You were one of her teachers, Gowjin. You taught her how to live as a gargoyle, how to move and fly as a gargoyle. I know you won't hurt her and I know seeing you again will help her in her quest."

Gowjin silenced the whimpering cub with a paw. "What do I have to do?"

"Does this mean you accept?" Pi asked.

"Yes. Just tell me what I have to do?" Gowjin said.

"In a few days, meet Max on the Northern Frontier. There, you will deliver a message to her. **'The answers you seek are on Cybersite Shangri-La'**."

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all."

Gowjin sat down. "I will do what you ask, Erasmus. You have my word."

"Thank you." Pi said. Then, he nodded to the cub. "Yours?"

"Yes. My eleventh son, Batleth." Gowjin said.

"Batleth." Pi said. "Good name for a cub of yours."

"Thank you." Gowjin said, ducking his head and smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Anything else?"

"Permit me usage of your Site – the power of your people – for one more experiment. I need this power to push Max in the right direction. I will only take a little bit form everyone here – except for the cubs – to fuel my spell. You won't even notice and I will be gentle." Pi answered.

Gowjin paused, ears turned slightly back, as he listened to the soft, indecisive growls of his underlings. The gargoyles knew Erasmus was a Plo'BaQ'krum and Plo'BaQ'krum were just as bad – if not worse – than the Gal'an. And gargoyles had long memories. However, the Shangrinese had good standing relations with the gargoyles and Gowjin respected that.

"Take only what you need, no more." Gowjin said.

The bent down and gathered his cub into his mouth before returning to the masses. Other than a parting to allow Gowjin and Batleth passage, the gargoyles did not move. They watched Erasmus and Red suspiciously. Their eyes – all different colors – narrowed on the two borgs. Despite having an understanding with the Warriors of Shangri-La and its leader, the gargoyles did not trust anyone who was not of their own kind.

Pi shrugged, having not really expected for the egg-laying mammals to leave. Instead, he turned away and motioned for Red to stand closer to him.

"Draw a circle in the ground." Pi softly ordered in Vul'kahR.

Red slowly drew his sword – it was a plain-looking katana, black-bound hilt without a guard, unmarked blade with a tapered edge, light-weight, and evenly balanced – and drew a circle in the ground around his master; earning a few curious growls from the gargoyles and many threatening snorts. Once Red was finished, he sheathed the sword at the back of his hip, and stepped away; not once meeting the beasts' gazes. Pi sat cross-legged on the ground in the circle; handing Red his scepter – Pi wouldn't need it for what he was going to do – and folded his hands in the Alchemist's handseal and closed his eyes.

The gargoyles had appeared like pale flames in Pi's Alchemy-sight and he knew the flames were their very souls. They glowed iridescent over a blackened background, each as unique as the one it belonged to. Pi carefully chose the brightest flames as well as the biggest, shunning the ones he knew to be cubs, and drew them to him. Their power filled him with strength and he pooled it with his own while gathering a memory to the forefront of his mind. Then, he found Max's thread and pulled it in.

With all the preparations out of the way, he was then ready to proceed with the next phase.

0

The next few days following Max's first nightmare occurred without incident. Aside from the continuous dreams of Max's romance with the Warrior, Mattimeo, nothing out of the ordinary came up. Even the days weren't eventful. However, there had been a few instances where Max managed a few feats without even realizing she could do that. Acrobatics, mostly, a a time or two when a KulG'GahR word would slip out during a maintenance error on her part. As well as one terrifying moment in the bathroom.

It had been a long day working in the boiler room. One of the ventilation pipes had come loose and Mathias had spent the last couple of nights freezing in his room. Finally fed up with it, Mathias asked for help fixing the problem after he had assessed what needed done. Even Echo had volunteered to assist with the repair.

First, they turned off the boiler, then they laid their tools out in preparation for what must be done. While Max and Echo held the pipe up – their hands protected by heavy-duty work gloves – Mathias and Ada bolted the parts in place, and Digit kept an eye on the calibration monitors. After a few adjustments, they were finished.

Hot, sweaty, and miserable, Max gathered a change of clothes, and turned to Echo.

"Bath or shower?" she asked.

"Shower." Echo said.

"Okay. I'll be down the hall if you need me." Max said, walking out.

The ceramic bathtub stood in the middle of the master bath. Normally, Max didn't take baths – she knew there was a reason why she didn't like baths, but she couldn't recall that reason now – but she felt that a bath would ease all the pains from today's venture in the the boiler room. She filled the tub with water and slipped in as it was filling. The warm spray from the faucet gently splashed her face and she shut her eyes, enjoying the soothing sensation it provoked. She leaned her head back against he rounded edge of the tube and forced every muscle to relax.

_Suddenly, a vision appeared. Max was suddenly standing at on the edge of a mountain. The thunder of the falls was loud and rocks vibrated with its force beneath her feet. The crystal-clear, bluish-tinted waters rushed past her; bubbles coating the stones and sending tiny droplets of water into the air with each explosive pop. Max peered over the edge of the falls. Far below, at a distance, she could see the walled city of Shangri-La and the warriors now fighting in the fields. For a brief, and very surprising moment, Max hoped they would not notice her._

_Max braced herself near the edge of the cliff; her muscles bunching in her calves and thighs like a coiled spring. Then, she jumped; dropping like as tone into the sun-warmed waters below. The rapids seized her as she bobbed to the surface and threw her against he jagged rocks with enough force to leave bruises and cuts. The water turned red around her and her body became slick with blood. The rapids ripped her away from the rocks and pulled her down stream. Several times, the water pulled her under; filling her sense with water._

Max woke up with shock, pulling her head out of the water and spat out the warm liquid. She sat up but the vision wasn't finished.

_She was pulled downstream and came to rest on the banks of the river just beneath the bridge. Her bleeding, battered body now too weak to do anything except breath. Toward the back of her mind, Max knew she had sustained injuries prior to this. All self-inflicted._

_A Warrior was suddenly standing over her. Her eyes met his and she could see the worry and sadness there. The Warrior knelt and touched her face._

_"What did you do_?"_ he asked. "Why did you do it? I thought you wanted help. Why would you do this? That isn't the way."_

_Max didn't answer. She was so focused on the pain of being hauled out of the water. The burly Warrior was not being gentle. Then, Master Pi was standing over her. His dark eyes were both worried and angry. Max suspected he was angry mostly at himself than her._

_"I trusted you, little one. I don't have any choice but to confine you to quarters until whatever fit you're having passes."_

_He made gestures and said something she couldn't understand and didn't get a chance to. A prick to her shoulder sent her into unconsciousness._

Max woke up with her head underwater again. Panicked, she floundered around until she got a good grip on the tub and pulled herself out of the tub.

_Okay. That's enough soaking for me. _she thought, getting out.

She pulled a fluffy white towel around her and dried off. As she pulled on a tanktop and shorts, there was a knock at the door.

"Max? Are you okay?" Mathias asked.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" She hated the quiver in her voice. She hated sounding so shaken.

"I heard you scream and thrash around. Are you sure you're okay?" Mathias pushed.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm fine." Max said. _Why is he being so pushy?_

Mathias must have noticed how Max sounded. There was a long pause before Mathias said anything more.

"Okay, sweetheart. Are you almost finished?"

"Yeah. I'll be out in a minute." Max answered, towel-drying her hair and shaking it into place; greatly surprised when even the smallest of movements upset sores down her back. Sores, she realized, that came from the rocks in the river.

_What was that?_ she thought. _A dream? A vision? . . . A memory?_

_A memory? How can it be mine? How could it _not_ be mine? But that jump . . . it can't be what I think it was . . . could it?"_

She let out the water, hung the towel up, and gathered her stinky clothes. Mathias was still outside the room when max opened the door. His golden eyes softened as they settled on Max's face. She looked unnerved. Unsettled. Skittish. Mathias found himself blaming Pi for that. Whatever happened in there had aroused a terrible memory.

_Why can't he be a little more gentle? Why can't he just let these memories come on their own? She's been wounded enough._

Max returned his gaze, then gestured to the bathroom. "It's all yours, Dad."

He nodded. "Thank you."

He wanted to hug her but he had long-since figured out Max's boundaries. When she was angry or unsettled, stay back. When she was upset or unhappy, hugging was very welcome. This was a no-hugging boundary, and Mathias knew to respect that.

Max tucked her clothes tight beneath her arm and started back down the hall. Mathias grimaced.

"Max. If you ever want to talk about anything that bothers you . . . you know you can come to me, right?" _This sounds vaguely familiar,_ he thought.

Max stared at him through damp bangs. _Didn't we have this conversation before?_ she thought. She nodded. "I know, Dad. But I haven't figured out what's bothering me. When I do, you'll be the first to know."

"Okay, Max." Mathias said. He opened his arms and she paused before stepping into them. Sometimes touching her was bad, but oftentimes, she was like a little baby deer. She had to come to you.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Although, Mathias kept a rather close eye on her, wondering what she had seen to make her so upset. He could only guess that Master Pi was behind this and wanted nothing more than to scold him for traumatizing Max further. But Erasmus was nowhere to be seen. He apparently hadn't returned from a meeting with the twins rulers of Sensible Flatts. In fact, none of the Warriors had heard from either Master Pi or Red. The fact Mathias couldn't find Pi aggravated him more than the fact that Pi was able to influence Max's memories from a distance. Despite having been forbidden being near Max, Pi was doing a good job invading Max's privacy. And Mathias had wondered how Erasmus was doing it.

"No, Mathias. I sensed nothing unusual happening around that time." Motherboard assured him.

"What about the night she had her first nightmare – Max dreamed she was being flogged – did you sense anything then?" Mathias said.

"No. I sense nothing then, too." Motherboard answered.

"How is that possible? I know he's controlling this through Alchemy? How are you not picking any of this up?" Mathias was getting increasingly frustrated by it all.

Motherboard gave him a long look. "You may have to accept that Erasmus had programmed Max's brain to react to Alchemic feedback or something of the sort."

Mathias' jaw tightened. "I don't like that idea, Motherboard. I don't like it one bit."

"I know."

"the fact of the matter is he could go too far. He could push Max way past her limits. She's fragile enough now as it is. What if – what if she can't handle it? I can't stand to see her so broken again."

"Mathias, the fact Is, Max will be broken regardless of what you want or do. Master Pi has explored the limits of her mind. He knows how broken she was and he knows how much pressure she can take and how far he can push her. He won't do anything more to her than what she can take."

"I thought we wanted these memories to come on their own. I thought we wanted her to heal on her own. This doesn't seem fair. It – it's too fast."

"Quite the contrary, despite what you think, Max is slowly accepting tings. Whether she realizes these visions are hers or not is unclear. But she will eventually figure it out." Motherboard said.

"I hope **'eventually'** isn't far away." Mathias muttered.


	8. The Last Straw

_Chapter Eight. I've been working off and on on this one. But, mostly I've been working on future chapters for the next installment of the Like-Souls Trilogy (maybe Saga, but I don't know).  
_

___I don't own Cyberchase_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass.  
_

* * *

Chapter Eight  
The Last Straw

_The hall echoed with the sound of footsteps and the squeaking of a gurney. Max gripped the gurney rails tightly in both hands; her sandals slapping hard against the tiled floor. Her vision was obscured by the red-coated back of a wide-shouldered borg in front of her. Heading the brigade was Master Pi, dressed not in his usual blue robe, but in a suit of blue scrubs._

_They barreled through the curtain and came to a stop next to an over-sized operating table. Three borgs moved away from the gurney and walked around to the other side of the table as three other borgs shoved the gurney tightly to the table. Without thinking, Max grabbed the mat beneath the covered body on the gurney and helped heave it onto the table. Then, she listened as Master Pi gave them a run down on the events about to take place . . . in another language. Yet, somehow, she was able to understand it verbatim._

_"Today, we're going to attach a pair of mechanical limbs to this poor creature's remaining stumps. This will be a delicate procedure. We'll have to be careful._

_"Task one will be pairing each vein and artery to restart the flow of blood to and from her heart. Task two will be connecting the nerve endings to these wired receivers. We'll have to be careful to do this right."_

_Max nodded with the others, though she was totally lost. Then, Pi turned to her; a scalpel in his hand thrust in her direction._

_"Would you do the honors?"_

_Max took the scalpel and angled the edge of the blade toward the white stump where the arm should be. Just as the tip touched the skin, Max's eyes slid up and saw a ruby-red eye staring back at her. She backed up._

_"What are you doing?" asked one of the smock-coated borgs. "Just open the stump!"_

_Max nodded and took a step forward. As she angled the scalpel at the patient, again, she realized there was an arm already there. It was light blue and mechanical. Her eyes trailed up the arm and found herself staring into the dark-brown eyes of . . . herself._

_Max backed up, staring into her own eyes, not sure what was going on. She knocked over a stainless-steel dolly that contained surgical utensils and upset it. As she made to grab for it, her left hand suddenly vanished as did her foot. She fell to the floor as blood soaked into the tiles. But, it wasn't the blood that caught her attention. It was her reflection in the surface of the dolly. The reflection of a half-faced monster._

_Max shut her eyes in an attempt to shut out the image. _That can't be _my_ face, can it? _she thought._

_When she opened her eyes, she was the one laying on the table and her double was standing over her. The edge of the scalpel touched stump where her arm had been. Max's mouth opened in a soundless scream._

"Max! What the hell did you do?"

Max opened her eyes, relieved to find herself back in her own room in her own bed. Realizing the disturbing image had only been a dream made up by a fatigued mind made her breathe.

"Max! How did you do that?" Echo was suddenly standing over her, concern written on the human's face.

"Do what?"

"This!"

Max looked up and saw that her left arm was cocked at a funny angle behind her headboard. The locking pin in her elbow joint was shorn in two.

Max flinched. Apparently, her dream had been real enough to her that she started flailing around; catching her arm between the wall and the headboard. That might have been fine except that another jerk snapped the pin in half. Now, her forearm was held in place by the colored wires that worked her fingers and wrist.

"I don't know." Max said, slowly.

"DOC!" Digit yelled.

Marbles stepped into the room and stopped when he saw the damage and the odd angle Max's arm was now in. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"This is going to be a pain." he said, more to himself than to Max, Digit, and Echo. "Take her arm out of there but be careful how you do it." he told Echo and Digit while he went to his workshop to get another pin, a small mallet, a screwdriver, wire strippers, and a stool.

When he returned, Echo and Digit were slowly easing Max's arm out of the odd angle it was in. Once it was free, she sat up and Digit scooted her bedside table closer to her, which they used as a work station. Mathias set the stool by the table and laid his tools out. Max's eyes widened.

"Are those really necessary?" she asked, pointing to the screwdriver and wire strippers.

"They're just in case you ripped something out." Mathias told her. "Now, hold still. This may be a little uncomfortable."

Max scowled but watched him as he manipulated the two parts of her arm until the joint holes lined up and overlapped.

"How's your hand?" Mathias asked.

"My fingers are numb, but that's about it." Max answered.

"Can you move any of them?"

Max tried and the parts moved, but it was still difficult for her to move them at all due to the loss of feeling in her hand. Satisfied that nothing seemed to be out of place, Mathias positioned the pin into the holes and held up the mallet. Max's face twisted into a painful expression and her other hand balled up her nightgown in her fist. Mathias tapped the pin in place and Max still let out a yell as the connection was made.

"Sorry, Max." Mathias said.

"Yeah, yeah." Max said, nonchalantly. She flexed her fingers experimentally, then rolled over onto her side and curled up deeply into her blankets.

"Seemed like quite the nightmare." Mathias said.

Max nodded but had nothing to say. What could she say? It was a nightmare with elements she didn't understand.

Her father's hand was on the middle of her back. "Are you okay?" he asked, softly.

Max nodded again. "Yeah, Dad. I'm fine." she said.

He patted her back. "Alright, sweetie. Good night." He covered her with a quilt.

"Good night." Max said, grateful for the added warmth.

As Mathias gathered his things, he nodded to Echo and Digit before leaving. Digit settled into his cushion and Echo went back to bed.

1

Gowjin regarded Master Pi severely; his black eyes shining with disappointment.

"You're pushing, Erasmus." Gowjin hissed. "I thought you wanted her to come to you, not be scared silly!"

"Right now, Max _must_ be scared silly before she can find her way. Fear is a good motivator. While I don't fully approve of that method, Max is on her way to figuring it out." Pi answered, calmly.

"Is she now?" Gowjin asked with a touch of humor to his voice. "And what if this plan of yours backfires? What then?"

"Then we start over. I'm not planning on mentally incapacitating my only Shield-Maiden." Pi said.

"So stop." Gowjin said. "One more dream like that and she won't know a sock from a nut."

"I need one more push. Just one. Then, it's your turn." Pi told him.

Gowjin's eyes blazed, hotly; his teeth showing. "Just don't break her." was all he said before turning back to the others.

Pi faced back in the direction of Control Central and organized his thoughts again. He had one more nightmare to provide, then he was done. This one was guaranteed to push her to where he wanted her to go. And while he felt bad about using it, he had to.

0

Max snuggled deep into her covers and stretched out. Within minutes, she was back asleep.

_Her dreams started out fairly normal. The same mix of sights and sounds humans often dream about. Lately, however, Max's dreams seemed to revolve around the Warrior, Mattimeo. Sometimes, there was another Warrior in his place – Max thought she knew his name but couldn't be certain. The Warrior (both Mattimeo and the other one) were always there holding her and singing in a language she didn't quite know as they sat in a meadow._

_Max smiled and leaned her head against the Warrior's breast plate; listening to the mix of strange words tumbling out of his mouth. She sighed and shut her eyes, wishing this moment could last forever._

_Then, there was a shift. The Warrior's arms, which had been cradling her to him, had suddenly tightened like a vice; squeezing her in a painful fashion. Max yelped and struggled to get free; looking pleadingly up into the Warrior's face, wondering what could have changed him so. But the face she was looking into was not the face of her love but was the face of a man she had never seen before. _

_Green skin, eyes the color of obsidian, black hair, and a pointed chin. He smiled maliciously at her and Max was suddenly afraid._

_"Let me go!" Max screamed, hitting the stranger hard in the side._

_The stranger let her go, then seized her again and threw her on the ground. Max hit solid concrete, not grass. She kept her eyes on the tall borg, watching him as he turned away from her; facing a monster strapped to the floor. Max realized it was the same beast from a previous dream. The albino gargoyle who had been undergoing surgery to replace her missing limbs. Chains, wires, and hoops held her in place. The wires led to a huge generator which the stranger was now standing next to. He turned and grinned savagely at Max._

_"Say good-bye to the Defender of Cyberspace." he said, pulling the switch._

_The creature rose up off the floor; screaming, bellowing, and vomiting. But Max's own screams drowned out those of the monster's. Her body convulsed on the floor as though she were the one being electrocuted and not the monster in front of her._

"Max, wake up!"

Echo's voice, which cut through the horrible nightmare, was a blessing to Max. Her eyes snapped open, seeing the human's concerned face swimming into view. Without thinking, Max grabbed Echo and pressed herself into her; sobbing.

"What happened?" Echo asked, letting Max cry in her shoulder.

"I saw it! I saw the monster again! That man . . . he's going to kill her!" Max said.

"Again? You mean you've seen this monster before?" Digit asked from the floor. In one of Max's convulsions, she had accidentally thrown him off the bed. The cyboid climbed back up and perched himself on his cushion.

Max finally let go of Echo and wiped off her eyes with the heel of her palm. "Yeah. I – I just don't know why this keeps happening to me. Why do I keep dreaming about that monster?"

Neither Digit nor Echo had an answer. Or, rather, they didn't have an answer that didn't involve telling Max the truth.

"What's going on?" Mathias and Ada just appeared in the doorway.

"Max had another nightmare." Echo said, simply.

"It wasn't another nightmare!" Max said, angrily. She got off the bed and went to her dresser. Everyone watched her as she began flinging clothes out of the drawer. "It was so real! He's going to kill her, I know he is! I have to stop it, I just have to!"

Ada was the first to speak. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I don't know." said Max, confusion taking the place of the fear. "I – I think it was on the Northern Frontier so that's where I'll go."

"Max, it's two in the morning." Mathias said. He didn't like watching Max fall to pieces like this.

"I don't care. I have to stop him! He's going to kill her!" Max said.

"Who's going to kill who?" Mathias asked.

Max took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "There's this borg. He's tall and has green skin. I don't know his name. He had this . . . gargoyle. He called her **'Defender of Cyberspace'**." Once that was out of her system, Max fell back into hysterics. "He's electrocuting her, Dad! I have to stop him!"

Mathias was in the room in only a few strides. He grabbed Max's hands to stop her from emptying out her drawers and pulled her into him. "Max. It was just a dream. Everything's fine."

Max's head rocked back and forth in his shoulder. "No, Dad, it's not fine. And it wasn't just a dream. It felt so real."

"Dreams have a tendency to do that, Sweetie." Mathias said, squeezing her even tighter to him. _Damn that Erasmus!_ he thought, darkly. _Why can't he be more gentle?_

He held her until she finally seemed to calm down. Then, he kissed her on the cheek before giving her a small push toward the bed, tucking her in once she laid down.

"Get some sleep. If you still feel the need to go to the Northern Frontier in the morning, I'll take you there myself. Okay?"

Max nodded, but she didn't like that plan. If she waited any more, the creature could die . . . if it wasn't dead already, that is.

She watched as her parents left the room and waited; listening to he sound of their bedroom door closing. She lay there and waited a while longer. Next to her, Digit's breathing softened, a sure sign that he was now fast asleep. She sat up, swung her legs out over the side of her bed, and shuffled to her dresser. She found a pair of shorts and a tanktop using her hands and changed in the dark.

"Max. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Echo whispered.

"Nothing. Just going for a walk. That's all." Max whispered back.

Silence on Echo's end. Then, "You're not going to the Northern Frontier alone, are you?"

"No." Max said, a little too guiltily.

Max heard the unmistakable sound of fabric on fabric and skin as Echo climbed out of bed and padded to her dresser to find a set of clothes.

Max sighed. "What are you doing?"

"Coming with you to the Northern Frontier." Echo said.

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Please. We both know that's what you're really up to."

Max rolled her eyes. "Fine. You can come." she said, exasperated. "I have to warn you. I don't know what I'm going to find there."

"That's okay." Echo said. "At least it'll be something to put your mind at ease."

Max thought about that as she slipped on a pair of socks and shoes. Did her mind really need to be put at ease? She had to admit something had been bothering her lately like she was missing a piece of herself. But, she couldn't put her finger on what.

1

"Well, Erasmus?" Gowjin's deep, powerful voice woke the Shangrinese Alchemist from his meditative sleep. "Is it finished?"

"Yes, Lord Gowjin. It is finished. Your turn to set her in the right direction." Pi answered, politely. He nodded to Red who opened his belt pouch and withdrew a crystal hanging on a long, black cord. A golden π was suspended in the middle of the crystal. "Wear this as you leave this place. So that anyone who sees you will know you are protected by the Alchemy of Shangri-La. They will not other you."

Red stretched the cord out as far as it would go and Gowjin ducked his head into it. Behind him, gargoyles grumbled disapprovingly. However, since the gargoyles could not leave their Site without permission from either Motherboard or Master Pi, the amulet had to be accepted.

"I shall return." Gowjin said. "Rexcellinor, you are in charge until my return."

A silvery bull nodded. Beside him, Gowdajon growled, none-too-happy about his younger brother being chosen as temporary Bull King over him. Gowjin gave him a silencing snarl, then turned back to Erasmus and Red.

"You should probably leave before a riot ensues."

"I understand, Gowjin. Good luck to you."

With that, the gargoyle leader took off into the darkness of Cyberspace.


	9. The Final Push

_Chapter Nine. I've been working off and on on this one. Mostly off for a couple of reasons. The first being I didn't have too many ideas for this one. Max has been loud with ideas for later storie(s). However, the good news is, I started working on this a few weeks ago, stopped and didn't go back to it until Saturday night, April 20th. I meant to go back to writing it the next day since I was off work and I hoped to finish it soon . . . except I ran into one small problem. Or, rather, I woke up to an unpleasant surprise.  
_

_My eight-year-old rabbit, Shadow, had passed away sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning. It's still sad and I'm a little surprised, but we were kinda waiting for it. Shadow had been sick for a while and she just stopped eating her regular food (she still wanted her snacks but wouldn't eat the buckeye pellets we give her). She went from 7 1/2 pounds to 3lbs in about 4 weeks so she was a bag of bones by the end of her life. Because of her death, I couldn't work on this chapter. Anyway, this chapter is posted in Shadow's memory. I'm always going to love you, baby._

___I don't own Cyberchase_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass.  
_

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Chapter Nine  
A Final Push

The ride to the Northern Frontier was quiet and stressful with both Max and Echo crammed in the front seat with Max at the wheel. Her lips kept trembling as she whispered random words beneath her breath. On occasion, shake her head as though trying to clear it. Echo watched her a moment, barely able to hide her concern.

"Max? Are you alright?" Echo asked.

Another head jerk. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." Max blinked rapidly. "I'm fine." she repeated.

"You don't look fine." Echo said. "You look like you're having a conniption fit over there."

Max set the brakes and blew out a sigh, rubbing her eyes with her palms. "What am I doing, Echo?"

Echo shrugged. "I don't know – looking for answers, maybe?"

"Answers to what? What am I missing?" Max's hands came away from her eyes as she said this.

Echo shrugged again. "I don't know."

Max snorted. "Lot of help you are." she muttered.

Echo's face reddened. "Well, this venture started with the nightmare about the creature, right?"

Max rested her head against the cozy seat. "Yeah, it did."

"Any idea what that creature was?" Echo pressed, though she already knew the answer to that question.

Max stared up at the coop's roof. "I-I think it was a gargoyle. An albino gargoyle." she answered. She fell silent as a strange thought slowly crossed her mind. "You know what's odd?" Echo shook her head as Max looked at her. "I feel like I know that gargoyle. Like, I know its name and . . . well, everything about it."

"What is its name?" Echo asked.

Max rubbed her eyes with the fingertips of one hand. "I think the gargoyles call it **'Chis'Veglargh'**. If I'm not mistaken, that means **'White Demon'**. But, that's just what they call it. I-I believe it had another name and I know I should know it. But, for some reason, I don't."

She let her hand drop and she looked at Echo. "What's wrong with me?" she asked.

Echo seemed taken aback b the question. Even more-so now that Max was looking at her; expectantly awaiting an answer. Echo slowly reached out and squeezed Max's shoulder. "Nothing, Max. There's nothing wrong with you, Max. Even humans have memory problems from time to time."

"You mean like humans have this huge blank spot in their memories?" Max asked.

Echo shrugged. "Sometimes, yeah." she admitted.

"This feels weird, though. Like . . . my brain is just fragmented. My brain is missing a huge chunk of information in places it shouldn't." Max continued to stare at Echo in an attempt to gauge her reaction. Much to her hidden dismay, Echo had an almost perfect poker face. "Did something happen to me?"

Echo shrugged. "I don't know. I've only known you for a few months, so I can't say."

Max didn't look like she believed Echo. However, instead of pushing the issue, Max faced the cyberworld out her front window. "Whatever the case, I think the Northern Frontier has the key. There's something there, I just know it."

Echo gave Max another friendly squeeze. "Then let's go and find out."

Max said nothing more, though she did release the brakes and stomp on the gas pedal; the coop zoomed through Cyberspace toward the Northern Frontier. In only a matter of minutes, the two girls were suddenly settling down on a small rise. They unbuckled their seat belts and stepped outside the coop as Max beeped it shut and pocketed the keys. Without another word, Max set off in a direction; purpose in her swagger. Echo jogged to catch up.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Echo asked.

Max shrugged. "Not a clue." she answered.

"So, why are you going this way?" Echo said.

Another shrug. "I just have a feeling that I'm supposed to go this way. Like . . . like it's the right direction to go in."

"And how do you know what you're going to find?"

"I guess I'll know when I find it."

Echo seemed to accept that answer and they walked in silence. Then, Max stopped and stared at the huge warehouse now looming above them.

The warehouse was big and empty. The rolling garage doors closed to keep out intruders and the industrial-style windows covered over with black cloth or trash bags.

Max was undoubtedly drawn to it like the north and south polarities of a magnet. She approached; pausing to stare at the faded poster of a green-faced man plastered on the side of the building. Max's coolant froze when she realized the poster depicted the man from her dream.

The man who tortured the hapless gargoyle – Chis'Veglargh – in her most recent nightmare.

Her fingertips skimmed the surface of the poster, brushing away the dust that had developed over time. That was when she could clearly see the lettering on the poster.

"**Property of The Hacker"**

Echo was at Max's side, hand hard on her elbow. Seeing The Hacker's face reminded her of the first borg Max killed. Echo was afraid that this would unlock unpleasant memories for Max. Very unpleasant memories. Was it too soon for this?

"We probably shouldn't be here." Echo whispered.

"You're right, we shouldn't." Max said, agreeably. She didn't take her eyes off the poster. Nearly held in place, she was, by the obsidian stare of the figure depicted there. "This is the Northern Frontier. In layman's terms, we're in a forbidden zone."

"That's good enough for me." Echo said, pulling Max back. "Let's go."

"I can't. There's something I need to see." Max said, pulling her arm out of Echo's grasp.

She went to the door, turned the lock over to unlock, and pushed it up. The momentum carried the door back and Max went in. She paused in the dark and patted the wall for a light switch. Once flipped, the entire room was bathed in the brightness of halogen luminescence.

For the most part, the room was empty, except for a bench situated in the middle of the room. A large, rectangular sheet of plywood with broken hoops lay on the floor; a mass of broken chains lay on top of it and a silent generator stood beside it. Behind the bench was a steel structure assembled in the shape of a cross. Behind that was a computer.

Max stopped and stared. Deja vu playing with her mind. Even Echo was speechless.

"That's where the gargoyle was being electrocuted. Of that much, I'm sure." she finally said.

"It's not here, Max." Echo said. "Let's go home."

"Wait." Max said. She looked at the cross. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked.

Echo pretended innocence. "I don't know. What do _you_ think it is?"

"The Steel Crucifix." Max said. She walked around the bench and stared up at the cross, almost tripping over the eroded dent in the floor. "This can't be possible. We don't execute anyone for crimes using this method anymore." She inspected the dent. "Nor do we use hydrofluoric acid on them anymore, either."

"All the more reason for us to leave." Echo said.

Max didn't miss that Echo was scared about something. Nervous more like it. _About what?_ Max couldn't help but notice that Echo was looking at _her_. The fear and nervousness swimming in those vivid green eyes.

Before Max could demand Echo explain her expression, a large shadow fell over the human girl. Echo turned and backed up slowly when she saw who it was standing behind her.

It was a gargoyle. There was no doubt in their minds that's what it was. A large male with scales blacker than black and a mane to match. His eyes were also black, but they reflected the halogen lighting like smoke-covered mirrors. Only his claws, teeth, and curling horns weren't black. They were a creamy beige, a pale brown; smooth to the touch, warm, and deadly. His leonine ears were turned back, relaxed, non-threatening.

Max moved until she was in front of Echo; all too aware of the danger they were suddenly in. She stared at the demon, watching his posture; expecting a chance that would suggest a possible attack. He was very relaxed. Black eyes fixed on the two women in front of him.

"Don't let him know you're scared." Max suggested, gently. _Where did that come from?_

"Too late." Echo said. Her hands were shaking on Max's shoulder.

"I know." Max said. Then, she addressed the gargoyle. "What do you want?"

"Peace." the gargoyle said. "My name is Gowjin."

"Gowjin?" _Where have I heard that name before?_ "You're the leader of Wyvern!"

The black eyes were suddenly on her. "Yes. And you are Maxanne Marbles, daughter of Dr. Marbles."

"Have we met?" Max found herself asking.

Gowjin smiled and nodded, his sharp teeth showing. "Yes. We met. A long time ago. You were someone else then." he said.

Max had relaxed. She knew of Gowjin. He didn't like violence. But he would go on the defensive if threatened.

"It's okay." Max whispered to Echo. "We're safe."

Echo eased up on her hold on Max's tank top, but she didn't let go. Max chose not to shake her off since it seemed to be comforting to her.

Max turned back to Gowjin. "You're out of your territory, Gargoyle. You should go back to Wyvern."

Gowjin plopped into a sit. "I need to tell you something, Maxanne Marbles."

"What's that?" Max asked. "And why did you say I was something else when we first met?"

"You're missing a part of yourself. An important part, indeed. You may not realize it but you are looking for answers." Gowjin said.

"Answers? To what?" Max asked.

"To questions you do not know you are asking." Gowjin said, vaguely. "The answers you seek are on Shangri-La."

"I didn't know I was asking questions that needed answers."

"You will learn everything you need to know. All you have to do is ask Master Erasmus Pi." Gowjin said.

"Master Pi? What's he got to do with this?"

"Everything." Gowjin stood up and sauntered out the door. "I said enough. Time for me to go."

"No. You haven't said anything at all." Max said. She left Echo and ran up to Gowjin. She grabbed the end of his spiraling horn and pulled his head around until he was looking at her. "What is this about?"

"It's about your past. Your _forgotten_ past." Gowjin said.

"I don't understand." Max said, letting go of the horn. Gowjin didn't seem to mind, but she knew better than to provoke a gargoyle. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Gowjin licked Max's face with a delicate pink tongue."Go to Master Pi and ask him. He'll tell you all you need to know."

Then, he was gone.

0

Erasmus spent the next forty-five minutes after returning to Shangri-La from Wyvern on his cushion in deep meditation. For him, mediation never got old and he could sit for hours and even days on end. Especially if he was focusing on one of his beloved underlings. When it came to Max, he would gladly sit in silence for years without moving if it meant helping her find her way back.

Erasmus settled deep into the plus mat and willed his mind and body to relax. After taking a few deep breaths, he called upon the Alchemic powers he had learned long ago and used it to reach out and find his target. Finding Max was easy. While Erasmus had been in her mind, erasing her memories, he had planted a transmutation circle in the less-accessible parts of her brain. The circle allowed Erasmus the ability of keeping track of her. Through it, he knew exactly where she was and what she was doing. He could also tell who she was with.

Use of this particular power was frowned upon by Alchemists from all over, but had never been forbidden because it could be used with the best of intentions. However – worst-case scenario – it could be used to find a target . . . and kill them.

Killing Max had never been Erasmus' intention, although he had put her in a few life or death situations where she had to mock-kill a Warrior and vice-versa. This was the first time Erasmus used the spell to keep track of someone, but it was the first time he used the spell to continually keep track of that person. As well as use it to slowly nudge memories into place as he had been doing only a few days after putting the blocks up around the unwanted or dangerous memories. Granted, most of them were leaking through on their own, but Erasmus had secretly opened a few chinks in the blocks to allow more information out. Using Gowjin as another lever was the only non-Alchemic push he had used on Max thus far.

Erasmus' brow furrowed when he found Max. She was still on the Northern Frontier. And she was not alone. Echo was with her, which was not what Erasmus expected. If he had known the human was coming with Max, he would not have sent Gowjin. Gowjin had a lot of respect for the Warriors and admiration for Max because of how she was able to learn their way. But Echo was neither Warrior nor cyborg. He wasn't sure if Gowjin would see Echo as a threat. Even if Gowjin was mild-mannered and very accepting of a great deal things. Erasmus wished he hadn't taken the chance of Gowjin not killing her.

He searched the area and Max's mind. It seemed Gowjin had already been there. The Alchemist relaxed. His recent fears now put to rest. The Bull King had done his job, it was time Erasmus finished his.

Erasmus left the comfort of his mediation cushion and drifted outside, hailing the Warrior he saw was now on the wall. The Warrior acknowledged Erasmus' presence, before climbing down.

"Percival! Are you willing to watch for a while longer?" Erasmus said, gently addressing the smaller Warrior in Vul'kahR.

Percival's dark eyes slanted as he considered what was being asked. He nodded, waiting for his leader to continue.

"We will have two visitors coming, shortly. Please admit them. Show them to Max's old room. Then, wait for further instructions." Erasmus said.

Percival nodded in acceptance before returning to his post. As Erasmus went back to his room, he couldn't help but smile. Percival was incapable of speaking. However, even without his voice, he was a capable Warrior and an excellent surgeon. It was because of Percival that the other Warriors got a rap for being called "silent and mysterious". Percival was the silent and mysterious one. There was no doubt about that.

"Master?"

Erasmus turned and saw Garrett waiting by the doorway of his room. Erasmus stopped and waited for Garrett to continue.

"Is Max coming back?"

Erasmus knew this was more than a question of curiosity. Removing Max from the Warrior ranks hurt Garrett. And now that Mattimeo – who had made many promises to Max in the past – was gone, Garrett was hoping to fill the role Mattimeo left behind.

Erasmus studied Garrett's face. The tall Warrior's eyes were more expressive than his mouth and eyebrows gave away. The Alchemist put a hand on Garrett's armored shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yes. She is coming back." Erasmus said.

The corners of Garrett's mouth twitched and Erasmus waited for the inevitable question he knew was coming. He felt the hesitation in Garrett's mind. _How can I ask that which is frowned upon by our order?_ Erasmus squeezed the Warrior's shoulder in a friendly way, telling him he was open to anything.

"Master, you know Mattimeo and I are of the same stock." Garrett began. Erasmus nodded to indicate that Garrett continue. "And you know about Max and Mattimeo's relationship. I was wondering if – now that my batch-brother is gone – if you would permit me to take his place in Max's life?"

Erasmus folded his hands inside the wide sleeves of his robe. "The decision of whether or not you can – or should – fill that role is not up to me. That is a question you should ask her."

"Yes, Master, and I will ask her. However, I am wondering, if she says yes, do I have your consent to continue what my brother began?" Garrett said.

Erasmus continued to watch Garrett. Over the last few weeks, Garrett had made no secret of his feelings for Max. Most of the Warriors respected Garrett's decision to uphold Mattimeo's promises to Max while others – mostly Thaddeus, Dimitri, Blaine, Ferrid, and Cato – verbally abused Garrett; calling him stupid for falling in love with a fellow Warrior-slash-outsider. Many fights broke out between the two sides. Eventually, Red ordered the competitors, Garrett and Thaddeus, to spar – they were Warriors, after all, and discrepancies (if they couldn't be eased by words) could be eased on the field. The deal was if Garrett won, Thaddeus and his cohorts could not bad-mouth Garrett and his choice; but if Thaddeus won, then Garrett had to give up on Max.

Garrett won, but just barely. And while Thaddeus and the others had been forbidden from their rebellion, Erasmus had them re-schooled in the Warrior code; particularly that involving promises. They begrudgingly accepted Max as Garrett's future mate. Though, Erasmus – and all the other Warriors – knew the main reason behind the five's anger was more due to their feelings toward Max, who they had done little more than tolerate.

_Especially after the fiasco almost eight years ago_ Erasmus thought as he reflected upon this. The paling bruise on Garrett's angular face made Erasmus think back to the bitter rivalry and he felt for Garrett's honor.

The Shangrinese Alchemist touched his medium to Garrett's shoulder. "Our codes were written as a guideline for how each of you should live. You already know the code inside and out. You've studied it and you've up to it. You are a great Warrior, my son, and you have done well in your allotted tasks. Your reward is coming." He withdrew the staff. "Very well. I will permit this relationship on the grounds that you do not let your personal feelings interfere with any tasks I give you. Your first duty is to the order. Your second is to Max. Understood?"

"Yes, Master." Garrett said, bowing stiffly at his waist.

"Good." He waved at Garrett, dismissing him, before heading in to rest.

1

Max watched Gowjin fly away until he completely vanished in the dark. The appearance of the Bull King further confused her. Even more-so than what he had to say.

"_You're missing a part of yourself. An important part, indeed. You may not realize it but you are looking for answers."_

"_The answers you seek are on Shangri-La."_

"_You will learn everything you need to know if you ask Master Erasmus Pi."_

"_It's about your past. Your_ forgotten_ past."_

"Max?" Echo said, softly. She looked a little more relaxed now that the gargoyle was gone, but there was something still bothering her. "Is there something wrong?"

"More puzzles." Max grumbled, darkly.

"So, what do you want to do about them?" Echo asked.

Max knelt against the track, still staring at the sky. Then, she looked at her friend. "You want to go to Shangri-La?"

"Max, it's late. I'm sure everyone is already asleep." Echo said, exasperated.

"It would be better than trying to sleep in the coop." Max pointed out.

Echo sighed. "Okay. Let's go."


	10. It All Comes Back

_Chapter Ten. I'm not going to apologize for how long this one took to write. I could give you any number of excuses but it boils down to work and having almost zero ideas for finishing this one and almost every idea under the sun for chapters for future book(s). If you liked my fanpage on facebook, you'd see what i was actually focusing on by my posts. you may or may not understand what's going on but you can tell they're for future books.  
_

_I wanted to get this chapter done _today _because today is the (*fanfair*) one year anniversary that i started collaborating with Kawaii Stella. so, this chapter is posted in honor of that great moment when we started chatting ideas back and forth on facebook. without further ado (except for the disclaimer), here's chapter ten._

___I don't own Cyberchase_._ Max is mine. Echo belongs exclusively to Kawaii Stella and her story Picking up the Broken Glass.  
_

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Chapter Ten  
It All Comes Back

The ride back in the cybercoop to Shangri-La was mostly silent. Echo had wrestled the keys away from Max and commandeered the coop. Max didn't struggle or argue as they slipped into the comfortable seats. Echo started take off procedures and Max leaned against the window; watching the Northern Frontier disappear beneath her. A gasp made Echo's face whip around and regard Max.

"You okay?" Echo asked, braking the coop for a moment.

"Deja vu." Max said.

"What did you see?" Echo prompted.

"I-I felt like I took off from here before . . . a long time ago. I was somebody else, then, and I was with somebody else then." Max answered. She gave herself a little shake. "I think Digit was here with me. But there was someone else, too. Someone bad."

"What was the bad person's name?" Echo asked.

Max shrugged. Echo frowned and moved her foot over to the gas. As Max leaned her head back against the cushy seat of the coop, she shut her eyes and began the same low muttering she had done earlier. Before long, Echo was shaking her awake as she touched down on the Site.

"We're here." Echo said.

Max nodded and got out. As her feet touched the soft blades of grass, Max shuddered at the sudden memory.

"Hacker." Max said.

"What?" Echo gasped, looking at Max.

"His name was Hacker."

"The other one who was with you and Digit?"

This time, a nod.

"How bad was he?"

"He tried to kill me." Max pushed away from the coop and went up to the gates.

0

Perceival, the ever-alert borg, straightened up and raised his bow; ready to draw and nock a field-tip arrow to his bow. His dark eyes narrowed to mere slits as the coop set down outside the gates. One hand lovingly caressed the feathered flights on his arrows.

He blew out a sigh and put his bow down as two figures stepped out of the coop. Expected guests. Using a penlight, Perceival sent a message to ground petrol and was signaled in return. Then, Leroy, one of the younger Warriors, dashed up to the gates and waited.

1

"Should we knock? I mean, they could be fast asleep and it would be rude to wake them up." Echo said as they ascended the long staircase to the doors.

"There's usually someone still watching the plain about this time." Max said.

"How do you know that?"

A shrug. "I just do."

Max stretched up and started a light pounding on the door. After a minute or so of waiting, the door opened and a tall, lanky Warrior stepped out. He was so tall, even Echo barely came up to his chest. Hanging from his belt was a pair of throwing hatchets, but his relaxed stance showed both girls he was not about to use them.

"Sorry to bother you," Max began, "but we were told to come here and see Master Pi. I don't suppose he's available, is he?"

The Warrior shook his head and said four words in broken English. "The master is resting."

"Well, I guess we can wait 'til morning." Echo said.

"Sure we can." Max agreed. She nodded to the Warrior. "Thank you, we'll come back later."

The Warrior shook his head and stepped aside, waving an arm in a welcoming gesture. "Enter. Be welcome." he said.

"Thank you." Max said, politely, as she stepped in.

"Thanks." Echo said, sticking close to Max.

As soon as they cleared the threshold, the door closed with a resounding thud and two robust Warriors bolted it shut; one barely able to hid the contemptible sneer when he turned to the two girls.

"Follow me, please." their guide said, leading them up the long staircase of a tower to a lofty room. Once on the landing, he stopped and opened the door to a comfy room; motioning for them to enter and be welcome. "Stay here. Sleep well." he told them.

"Thank you." Max said.

"Thanks." Echo said, watching as a robust Warrior laid out a mat with pillow and blanket next to the low bed.

Both Warriors, once finished, bowed and left the room.

"Bed or mat?" Echo asked Max.

"You can have the bed." Max said, diving for the mat and curling up beneath the blankets.

Realizing it was futile to argue with Max, now, Echo plopped onto the bed.

0

Erasmus' rest was momentarily disturbed by a soft knock at the door. Very slowly, Erasmus rolled over.

"Yes?" he asked, gently.

"Master, the Shield-Maiden and her friend has arrived. What shall we do with them?" asked Leroy.

"Have you admitted them to Max's room?" Erasmus asked.

"Yes." Leroy answered.

"Let them sleep. In the morning, we shall see how much Max remembers . . . and if she is ready to reclaim her place among us." Erasmus told him.

He heard Leroy bow, then, "Master, what if she isn't ready?" The concern tight in his voice.

"Then she may never be." Erasmus admitted.

There was silence on the other side of the door and Erasmus knew Leroy was hesitant to continue speaking now. He was fond of Max and her decision to leave the Order – even as temporary as it was – hurt everyone who adored her. Admittedly, her choice to leave hurt more than Mattimeo's death ever would. The kindly master felt bad for telling Leroy that.

"She is ready, Leroy. Things will take place as they should. We have only but to have faith that this is right and proper." he said.

"Yes, Master. Thank you, Master. Good night, Master." Another bow, and Leroy was gone; leaving Erasmus to his sleep.

1

Mathias' alarm clock went off far too early for either his or Ada Mae's liking. The obnoxious beeping roused them both from their slumbers and Mathias reached over to slap it off; smiling sleepily as Ada Mae rolled up against him and flattened herself against his back.

"Good morning, Dr. Marbles." she whispered, sweetly.

"Good morning, Ada Mae." Mathias whispered back, patting her hands which had crept beneath the covers around his narrow waist.

"What are your plans for today?" Ada Mae asked.

Mathias' smile disappeared quickly. "Well, if Max is still going on about wanting to go to the Northern Frontier, I guess that's where I'm going to go."

"Oh, Mathias. Do you think it's safe taking her there? That's where all her internal pain started. What if she's not ready?"

"That's what I'm afraid of." Mathias admitted while sitting up. "Erasmus said these memories of hers are supposed to come back on their own. Instead, it's like he's pushing her to remember details about her life she doesn't even know existed. Each time is worse than the last and she always seems more rattled than before this all began." He looked at his beloved. "Ada Mae, I wonder if this could be the worst thing for her."

Ada Mae sat up and kissed him on the cheek. It never ceased to amaze her just how soft he was toward Max. How much he worried about her. To Ada Mae, that sort of caring behavior in Mathias was what endeared him to her.

"I'm sure Max will be fine. She's always been strong. Given the chance, this is just another obstacle in her life she'd be quite fine with getting over." she said, leaning into him.

"But you saw her last night, Ada Mae. She was already becoming unglued after that dream." he reminded her, rubbing his eyes with one hand while he found his glasses with the other. "I never want to see her like that again. She was so scared by that dream. I don't know which is worse. The fact she got rattled watching her other self get electrocuted to death, or the fact she thought it was happening now."

"Mathias, it will be fine." Ada Mae said.

"I wish I could know that for sure." Mathias muttered.

"Well, take Max to the Northern Frontier. See where it takes you from there. I'll take care of things here." Ada Mae rested her cheek on Mathias' shoulder. "It's more than time since you actually spent quality time with Max."

"I slept with her that one night." Mathias said.

"That's not quite the same, Mathias. She needed you with her that night and you sat with because she needed you to. But you haven't spent time with her since she came back from exile."

"You're right." Mathias admitted. He slipped out of bed and got changed. Then, he turned back to his beloved. "If she still wants to go to the Northern Frontier . . . I'll take her after breakfast."

"Sounds good, Dear." Ada Mae said, slipping into a peach, long-sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans.

With both of them dressed, they headed down to the kitchen; pausing when they heard only silence from the kitchen. Well, except for the occasional scrape of utensils over pots and skillets. They peeked in and saw it was only Digit; who grinned at them.

"Morning, Doc. Morning, Lady Ada." he said.

"Good morning, Digit. Where's Max and Echo?" Mathias asked.

Digit blinked. "Well, they weren't in the room when I woke up." he said. "I thought you knew they left."

"They left?" Ada Mae asked, appalled.

She looked at Mathias who paled at the thought. Max had gone to the Northern Frontier without them.

0

Shangri-La had a beautiful smell in the morning. Nectar and moist earth. Max and Echo woke to these smells as well as to golden rays of sunshine and the chirping of birds. They stretched and yawned before sitting up and looking around.

"What now?" Echo asked.

Max shrugged. "Well, Gowjin said I need to talk to Master Pi, so I guess I should start there." she said.

"Sounds good." Echo said.

With that, they went outside. As they walked, Max looked around, noting the landmarks around them. Suddenly, Max stopped and stared across the field before taking a seat.

"Max?" Echo said.

"Shh. I'm thinking of something." Max said and the Celtic sorceress was silent.

Max shifted into a cross-legged position, staring across the valley toward the edge of the Site itself.

"Max."

Both girls turned toward the source of a voice. It was a tall Warrior wearing a pair of hooked swords over his shoulders. Max stood up, regarding the Warrior strangely. He smiled.

"Gla-tor nash-ven du." the Warrior said.

"I see you too – wait." The realization of what her response meant came to her faster than someone flipping on a light switch. "How do I know that's what you said?"

He didn't answer her question. "Tor du mok?" the Warrior asked.

"Do I remember you?" her eyes shifted around in their sockets. "I – I speak Shangrinese?"

She flinched and Echo grabbed her. But Max was not in pain. A flood of suppressed memories sprung forth and her breaths quickened.

_"Let us begin your first lesson in Vul'kahR."_

_"Max, this is Jethro, your Hapkido teacher."_

_"Your opponent is Garrett. . . . Good luck."_

Max looked up, tears flooding her eyes. "Garrett. Your name is Garrett."

The Warrior smiled. "Ha." _Yes_ he said, nodding.

"But, how do I know that?" Max said. "I always assumed the Warriors were nameless but -"

She was suddenly floored by the oncoming flood of memories, all of them involving various Warriors and her coming up against them. She screamed as those good memories were overcome by bad ones.

Garrett, concern replacing the joy he felt earlier, knelt by Max and gathered her in his strong arms.

"Ek' dungi shokt muhi, T'hai'la." _All will end well, my love._

Max leaned against him, breathing into his shoulder while Echo's hand slowly massaged her back and shoulders.

"I'm not who I think I am, am I?" Max asked, looking up at Garrett.

The big Warrior shook his head.

"Not entirely." Echo added.

"I see." Max said. "So, Master Pi does have all the answers."

This time, the Warrior nodded and a new voice joined them.

"And I will be happy to give them to you if you so desire to hear them."

All three looked up into the soft, gentle face of Erasmus Pi. The Shangrinese leader stared down at Max, patiently waiting for her answer. She swallowed before speaking.

"What will you tell me?" she asked.

"Anything you want to know." the master said, holding a hand out to her.

Max stared at the hand a moment before taking it and Erasmus pulled her up right and gave her a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. He turned to Echo. "I would like to speak with Max alone. You are welcome to stay here as an honored guest."

Echo could only nod as Erasmus led Max away.

1

"Where are you taking me?" Max asked Pi.

"There is something you need to see." Pi told her, leading her passed the field to a gated rectangle of land. He floated passed the rows and rows of marble rocks before stopping by one stone and patting it. "Look here." he instructed and she stepped forward.

Max looked down at the tombstone engraved with the name she had been both dying and dreading to see.

"Mattimeo."

Below the name was the carved likeness of the borg she kept dreaming about. Her friend, boyfriend, and lover. The borg who seemed to understand her. Memories of her life with the Warriors came back to her. They were pleasant. Full of life-long lessons and hardships, but still pleasant.

Max closed her eyes, desiring nothing more than to see those images without the interruption of the grave in front of her.

"Max." Pi's voice slowly wrenched her out of her thoughts. "What do you remember?"

"Everything." Max said. Then, she became puzzled. "His death . . . it wasn't an accident, was it?"

"Not really, no."

"Someone killed him?"

"Yes. Someone _did_ kill him."

Max took a breath before asking her next question. "It was me, wasn't it?"

Pi paused." Yes." he admitted.

Max fell to her knees, shaking with guilt and grief. "I didn't mean to!" she bawled.

"I know, Max. We all do." Pi said.

"So why did I do it?" she lifted her tear-stained eyes to him. "What could possibly make me want to kill him? I loved him!"

"I know you did love him and he loved you. Warriors aren't supposed to fall in love but you two did. And he wanted to take care of you and protect you.

"Mattimeo sacrificed himself for you. He was protecting innocent people from the uncontrollable monster you became."

"What uncontrollable monster?"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Max knew. She understood why it was Pi sent Gowjin to her. It was a sign meant to be a trigger. A clue as to what she was supposed to be. She had met Gowjin years ago. Almost ten years ago, in fact. She had been like Gowjin then.

"I was a gargoyle." she said before Pi could answer.

"Not exactly. You were a shape-shifter." Pi corrected. "And someone else was pulling the strings with your sanity and self-control."

"Ledge." Max said, surprising herself by knowing his name.

"Yes. Ledge." Pi said, waiting for an expected and inevitable mental breakdown. Hacker had traumatized her plenty, but Ledge traumatized her more.

"He killed my father, didn't he? That's why I lost all control." Max said, the memory fresh in her mind now.

"Yes. He did. But that's not all he did." Pi made a shape with his hand and Max stared at it, wide-eyed with understanding.

"He shot me!" She looked away. Her hand suddenly probing the smaller scar on her chest.

"Yes. And the bullet was laced with Magnetite and adrenaline. Magnetite to force the change, and adrenaline to make you lose control."

"And Mattimeo stepped in." Max said. "And I killed him."

"Accidentally." Pi reminded her.

Max nodded, wiping her eyes off on her arm. Pi watched her, secretly pleased that she was accepting the truth like she was supposed to. He had been worried that he would need to erase them again. Permanently this time.

"There's still one thing I don't get. My memories of my love, Mattimeo, are fake. You created them, right?" Max said.

Pi looked uncomfortable. "In a way, I did." he said.

Max nudged him. "You sly dog! I didn't know you were a romanticist!" she grinned at him.

"That didn't come from _me_, Max." Pi said. "In fact, they were less of a fabrication and more of a warped reality."

Max stopped grinning as she understood what he meant. "Oh." was all she could say.

"Yeah." Pi said, still embarrassed.

Max scratched at her neck. "That's really embarrassing that you saw that."

Pi chuckled. "You shouldn't have done such things, little one." he said.

"Well you shouldn't have been probing my mind for ideas like that!" she said, accusingly.

"Think of it this way: you got to keep him." Pi pointed out.

"That is true." Max admitted. She looked back at the valley. "What about Garrett? How is he handling this?"

"To tell you the truth, he's ecstatic. He's more than happy you're back. He's been waiting for you. Because . . . well, he's been wanting to take care of you. Because Mattimeo was his batch-brother. Now that Mattimeo is gone, Garrett feels it is his duty to take over what his brother had started."

"Makes sense." Max said.

"He's hoping you'll accept him the same way you accepted Mattimeo. He wants to be your mate and your lover." Pi continued.

"And what do you think I should do?"

"As Site leader, I should forbid it. However, since I'm sure you two could find a loophole somewhere in my instructions, I am simply going to turn a blind eye to it all."

"Thanks, Master."

"Although, it would make things a lot easier if you would consider taking up the mantle of Shield-Maiden again."

Max was dumbstruck. He was offering her a position among them _already_? What if this happened again? What if she couldn't contain herself?

"Your staff and armor are still waiting for you. We kept them safe in our armory. We had even done the necessary repairs to many of the damaged pieces. All that needs to be done is your reinstatement."

Pi's dark eyes were pleading, hoping she would say yes. Max simply couldn't say no, but she didn't really want to say yes either. She was free. Her life wasn't tied to anything. She wasn't expected to do anything except fulfill the role her father wanted her to. She could say no. Pi was leaving it entirely up to her. She could say no and let someone else fill the role. But she couldn't do that either. _This_ is what she had wanted since her childhood.

Max swallowed. Then, got up and bowed.

"Master Pi, it would please me greatly to accept the title of Shield-Maiden."

Pi patted her on the head. "Then go. Return home to your father and mother and have them return here with you. This is a ceremony that must be witnessed by any and all you cherish."

"Echo too?" Max looked up at him, hope in her brown eyes all too visible.

Pi smiled. "Yes. Echo too." he said. "Before you go, stop by the armory and have Petrol return your gis. You can wear one set home when you go back or you can wake until you come back here before you change."

"Thank you, Master." Max said, bowing again.

Pi waved a hand at her. "You are dismissed."


End file.
